Water Evaluation and Planning Workshop

WEAP Training in Amman, Jordan

The Ministry of Water and Irrigation (MWI) in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is currently engaged in a very ambitious and important effort to develop a National Water Master Plan (NWMP) for the country. As part of this effort, MWI is using the Water Evaluation and Planning (WEAP) tool to assess the current water supply and demand situation and to evaluate various policy and management interventions aimed at bridging the gap between water demands and available resources.

To support this effort, IWR contracted the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) for an advanced-level WEAP training to MWI staff and associates in coordination and collaboration with UNESCO-IHP in Amman. The workshop enhanced capacities for updating the NWMP using the WEAP system. The specific objectives of the workshop were to work with participants to: Review existing models, analyzing the modeling concepts and input data for 2 basins (Amman-Zarqa and Azraq); Identify key results to present and review and develop a result matrix for all basins; and Analyze and provide feedback simulations of different scenarios to identify next steps and challenges.

Throughout the workshop participants were tasked with using the model to evaluate different water management options. In the process of working through these exercises the participants were introduced to advanced modeling concepts, including using Key Assumptions to simplify scenarios evaluation and using the Scenarios Explorer as an alternative means of interacting with the model in group settings. These features were used in the development of a variety of management scenarios, which were all catalogued in MWI’s internal ‘Scenarios Library’ database. These scenarios included:

Amman-Zarqa WEAP:

• • Demand Management: updating to higher efficiency appliances in urban areas
  • Infrastructure: Expanding the capacity of Asamra Treatment Plant
  • Reducing the total amount of irrigated agriculture
  • Eliminating vegetable cultivation in Mafraq

Azraq WEAP-MODFLOW:

• • Climate change: 50% reduction in precipitation by 2050

In addition to these analyses, we also explored and discussed the benefits of extending the WEAP model to include the advanced features of using WEAP’s financial routines and linking to the groundwater flow model, MODFLOW.

Future workshop topics may include dealing with uncertainty and integrating economics.

Figure: Schematic of the Azraq WEAP-MODFLOW model. Source: Brian Joyce, SEI-US.