This photo does not relate to the mosques mentioned in the article, it just shows the use of water in preparing for prayers.
AMMAN — Grey water from schools and mosques will be harvested and two ancient reservoirs will be rehabilitated this year under a pilot project promoting alterative water resources, a conservationist said on Tuesday.
The pilot project seeks to address Jordan’s water shortage by encouraging the use of unconventional water resources, according to Ziyad Alawneh, president of the Land and Human to Advocate Progress (LHAP) organisation.
“The initiative focuses on the need to collect grey water from mosques and schools and harvest rainwater from their rooftops. The water collected will be used for flushing toilets and irrigating the gardens of schools and mosques,” he told The Jordan Times yesterday.
Under the pilot project, water harvesting and reuse will be implemented at one school and one mosque to represent models to be replicated in the future, Alawneh added.
“There are 5,700 mosques and 6,000 schools in Jordan; if the generated grey water is reused, so much fresh water can be saved and directed for drinking purposes,” he noted.
The project, which seeks to help local communities adapt to the impact of climate change, is implemented by LHAP and supported by UNDP and Coca-Cola’s Every Drop Matters initiative.
Also under the project, two reservoirs dating back to the Roman and Byzantine eras will be rehabilitated, according to Alawneh.
“Two ancient reservoirs, one in Qatraneh and another in Um Al Quttain in Mafraq, were selected for rehabilitation. They will be revamped to store rainwater, while trees will be planted to turn the areas into public parks,” he noted.
The project commenced in October last year and recently concluded its inception report and a mapping study, which showed that there are around 196 ancient reservoirs and ponds across the Kingdom.
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