The Sand Bar

Abstract

The King Abdallah Canal (KAC), formerly called the East Ghor Canal, irrigated in 1967 about 114,000 dunums in the East Jordan Valley with water diverted mainly from the Yarmouk. About 8,600 more dunums received water only during the winter season. About 18% of the area irrigated by the KAC was planted with citrus trees, and the cropping intensity was about 115%; i.e., there was demand for irrigation water during the dry months to support spring and summer crops. Up until 1979, all the areas served by the KAC had surface irrigation methods, and the distribution of irrigation water was done through a network of concrete-lined surface canals. On-farm irrigation was done through surface methods that required higher water duty per unit area of land. The overall irrigation efficiency was therefore lower than could be achieved with updated modern irrigation networks and farming methods. The average water duty as stipulated in the Unified Plan was about 1,460 m³ per dunum at the source of water. All irrigation infrastructure, up until 1967, was built with grant assistance from the United States that totaled US $12 million.