Refugees Draining Water-Poor Jordan Dry

Tens of thousands of Syrian refugees who have fled from carnage and violence at home to neighboring Jordan are draining the desert kingdom's meager water resources, officials and experts say. It is a new challenge for Jordan, one of the world's 10 driest countries, where desert covers 92 percent of its territory and the population of 6.7 million is growing by 3.5 percent a year. The tiny Arab country has given refuge to waves of Palestinian and Iraqi refugees because of regional conflicts over the past decades, and now the kingdom is hosting up to 120,000 Syrians. "Each Syrian refugee needs at least 80 liters of fresh water a day, so 9,600 cubic meters per day for 120,000 people. The cost of this subsidized water supply is 13,000 dinar ($18,000) a day, not to mention other related expenses," said Adnan Zubi, assistant secretary general of the Ministry of Water and Irrigation. (Source)