Wadi Musa
Direct reuse projects. According to one estimate, 1,500 ha were irrigated with reclaimed water in the vicinity of treatment plants as of 2009 in 15 locations, of which the biggest are near As-Samra (510 ha), Aqaba (208 ha), Ramtha (121 ha) and Wadi Musa (107 ha). Crops irrigated are forage crops and tree crops. One of the first pilot projects for direct reuse was implemented in Wadi Musa with support from USAID. Water was first used to irrigate a demonstration farm, and then the fields of nearby farmers. Another pilot project was initiated using wastewater from the small Wadi Hassan treatment plant to irrigate green spaces on the campus of the University of Irbid, and commercial fruit plantations. In most cases of direct reuse, the Water Authority of Jordan, the operator of most municipal wastewater treatment plants in Jordan, has concluded contracts with farmers. The total area irrigated under contracts with WAJ is 760 ha, or about half the total irrigated area. It is thus about 12 times smaller than the area irrigated with indirectly reclaimed water from the As-Samra plant in the Jordan Valley.