Sustainable Resources Management Journal

01-13

Authors: Mohammad Aljaradin and Raed Bashitialshaaer

AL-Karama dam, the second largest dam in Jordan, was constructed in the Jordan valley area in the year 1979. Currently, the dam holds about 72% of its designed storage capacity with total dissolved solids concentration of 2.2%. The dam water was designed to irrigate 100 km2 of new reclaimed areas and to provide drinking water for more than 30,000 residences. In this work, solar desalination system was suggested. The suggested innovative solution is designed to increase the dam efficiency and to increase water availability annually by 3.3 MCM in phase one to reach 9.2 MCM in the final plan. Furthermore to increase the irrigated areas by 20% in Jordan valley area. Considering the water availability, population and costs, small-scale solar desalination plant with reverse osmosis membrane is recommended.