Keywords; RS, Jordan River, Al-karamah dam, Al-Wihdah dam, Satellite imagery.
Sustainable water resources development and management necessarily depends on proper planning,implementation, operation and maintenance. Remote Sensing techniques have to be effectively used to replace, complement and supplement ground data collection in various facets of different kinds of water resources projects.
The synoptic large area repetitive coverage provided by satellite sensors can provide appropriate data that would lead to sustainable water resources development.The cost of development and management can be brought down when Remote Sensing is used along with conventional methods.
The gravest environmental challenge that Jordan faces today is the scarcity of water. Indeed, water is the decisive factor in the population resources equation. Whereas water resources in Jordan have fluctuated around a stationary average, the country’s population has continued to rise. The situation has been exacerbated by the fact that Jordan shares most of its surface water resources with neighboring countries.
Responding to the challenge, the government has adopted a multi-faceted approach designed to both reduce demand as well as increase supply. One of the Jordanian governmental projects to face water problems is build a series of dams on the Jordan and Yarmouk rivers to impound its share of floodwaters. The last dams have been build in Jordan side is Al-Karama and Al-Wihda dams.
The Jordan River is a holy place, meanders for 200 km along the Jordan Valley, separating Jordan, and the West Bank. In this paper investigation about the main effects which will cause the drying up of Jordan River in the near future, if the situation remain as its and nothing is done soon.
In this study focusing into the effects of Al-Karama Dam which located in the Jordan Valley, and Al-Wihda dam which located on The Yarmouk river, into Jordan river drying-up using satellite imagery and new topographic maps.
Those new dams reduce water flow significantly into the Jordan river, In additional to another past reasons like: dams, canals and pumping stations built by Jordan and the neighbor countries to divert water for crops and drinking which have been reduced the water flow by more than 90 percent.
Nowadays the raw sewage and runoff water from agriculture what keeps the river flowing.
Finally the solution will come not from Jordan only but from all the neighbor countries.