Multi-Agent Simulation

Jordan Model Application to High Commercial Tanker Water Consumption in Amman

Under conditions of water scarcity and intermittent network supply, utilities frequently struggle to fully meet urban demands for water, resulting in a supply-demand gap. In Amman, Jordan’s capital and by far its most populous city, this gap is filled by private tanker water operations which purchase groundwater in the urban periphery and sell it to customers across the city. Despite the fact that tanker water is commonly used and the trucks are a part of Amman’s cityscape – particularly during the hot summer months – there is little empirical work attempting to quantify how much tanker water is used by whom and for what purpose.

The FUSE team has analyzed to which extent one group of urban water consumers – the commercial sector – relies on tanker water. Key results from our analysis are:

1. total annual consumption of tanker water by the commercial sector in Amman is about 9.7 million cubic meters;
2. on average, 35-45% of the water consumed by the commercial sector is delivered by tanker trucks, with strong spatial and seasonal variations in prices (see Figure);
3. commercial establishments in Amman consume about 11% of the  water volume considered to be the annual safe yield of the Amman-Zarqa basin, which is currently exploited at an alarmingly unsustainable rate.