VZCZCXYZ0031
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHAM #1027 1241102
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 041102Z MAY 09
FM AMEMBASSY AMMAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5024
INFO RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 0621
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO 4013
RUEHDM/AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS 4164
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH 2150
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV 1697
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM 5502
RUEHLE/AMEMBASSY LUXEMBOURG 0024
RHMFIUU/HQ EPA WASHDC
RUEHDOI/DEPT OF INTERIOR WASHDC
RUEHRC/USDA WASHDC

UNCLAS AMMAN 001027 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ELA, NEA/RA, EEB, AND OES 
STATE PASS TO USAID 
STATE PASS TO OPIC 
CAIRO FOR VIALA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV EAGR PGOV PREL IS SA JO
SUBJECT: DISI WATER PROJECT CONTINUES TO ENCOUNTER POTENTIAL 
OBSTACLES 
 
REF: A. Amman 508 
 ¶B. 08 Amman 3011 
 
(U) SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED.  NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION 
 
¶1.  (SBU) The Disi water conveyance, one of Jordan's largest 
infrastructure projects with a $800 million budget, proposes to 
convey 100 million cubic meters (MCM) per year from the Disi fossil 
aquifer on the Jordanian-Saudi Arabia border to Amman.  Recent test 
results indicate that Disi aquifer water, however, has higher than 
average radioactivity levels, although the Ministry of Water and 
Irrigation consistently asserts that it has the capability to test 
for radioactivity and that Jordan's drinking water supply is safe. 
The testing and publication of results were made possible through a 
USAID Middle East Regional Cooperation (MERC) grant to Jordanian, 
Israeli, and U.S. academic institutions for a quality study on the 
radioactivity of water from seven wells in southern Jordan.  The 
full report, "High Naturally Occurring Radioactivity in Fossil 
Groundwater from the Middle East," is available at 
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es802969r . 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  The water quality report generated some controversy at 
the time of publication, but has not adversely affected the project. 
 Financing challenges, however, are attracting increasingly more 
attention.  GAMA, the Turkish company partially owned by General 
Electric and awarded the project in 2008, has been grappling with 
financing issues.  Additionally, recent press reports indicate that 
the European Investment Bank might be reevaluating its financing 
commitment given reports of radioactivity as well as concerns about 
Saudi Arabian concurrence to use the shared aquifer.  (Note: Saudi 
Arabia has long been using the aquifer for agriculture and mining 
purposes.  End Note.)  Jordanian newspaper Al-Arab Al-Yawm noted 
that participants in an April 26 meeting held in Paris for the Disi 
project's financial closure have decided to wait until the 
government clarifies a number of pending issues about the project, 
most prominent of which is the "radioactive pollution" of the Disi 
water. 
 
Visit Amman's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman 
 
BEECROFT