Everyone in Jordan feels the water crisis, no matter if you work in the government, are a study abroad student, or a tourist. Water is a precious resource that everyone needs to survive, no matter where you live. Because water is such a necessity for everyone, the conversation around water can get tense sometimes. In Jordan, it seems that water has become politicized and is now always a discussion among multiple stakeholders whether it's Israel, Syria, the United States (who gives a lot of foreign aid money to Jordan), non-profits, or local Jordanians. A few questions that these stakeholders might try to answer are: "Where should water supplied to Jordan come from?"; "Can we build renewable and sustainable water sources?"; "How can we mitigate water shortages?"; and "How do we make sure that no one steals water or sabotages the pipelines?"
Over my time in Jordan, I've learned a lot about the water situation. The first question I asked myself was "Where does water in Jordan come from?" To answer this question, there are a few different places. The country's main natural water sources are the Jordan and Yarmouk Rivers, which share a border with Israel and Syria. Jordan only gets a portion of its water from these sources. Another main water source is the Disi Water Project which ships water from the Disi aquifer to the capital city of Amman.
