Jordan Times
monday, August 31, 1998
Government to require water recycling at car wash garages
By Ahmad Khatib
AMMAN — The government plans to institute regulations requiring car
wash and auto maintenance garages to recycle their water, a Water Ministry official said
Sunday.
The regulations are designed to reduce the amount of petroleum residues entering the
filters at the country's wastewater treatment plants, the official said.
He added that these proposed regulations are part of efforts to help conserve water
following the eight-week-old water pollution crisis.
The official gave no further details and did not say when the new regulations would be
issued.
Water Ministry administrators said the idea was not new as it has featured in most of the
ministry's water conservation plans and public awareness campaigns.
Several large car wash proprietors said they need at least three cubic metres of water a
day to operate their facilities.
Most were forced to close down operations at the height of the water contamination crisis,
which halted scarce summer water supplies and forced them to buy water from tankers at
black market rates.
One station owner said his facility used a special system that filters water and petroleum
products leaving the station.
“According to the law, every licensed station is required to have a filtering system
to refine wastewater leaving it,” said one car wash station owner who asked not to be
named.
“In addition, our station will soon begin operating its own water recycling
system,” the owner said.
He and others said they welcomed any feasible solution that might help solve Jordan's
chronic water problem.
“We are ready to help and cooperate in finding solutions to our water problem,”
said Taha Hijjawi, owner of the Hijjawi Car Wash Station.
“We will study the government's plan once we get it,” he told the Jordan Times.
“But if it will harm us, then we would prefer to close down our business for
good.”