Jordan is the third-driest country in the world, a problem that led the Yarmouk Water Company (YWC) to make a conscious effort to preserve water in the northern city of Irbid.

The company cut off water from 326 households in the past six weeks due to their water-wasting behaviour, said Hassan Hazaymeh, Director Manager of YWC.

Hazaymeh said that a team of inspectors subsidiary to the Irbid Directorate branch visited 55 residential buildings, which host 894 households, and cut water off from a third of them for “wasting water in the street.”

Each building is closely monitored in and out before each household’s water habits are assessed.

Hazaymeh stressed that each household’s case is treated individually, clarifying that the goal of this campaign is to preserve water, not cut it off.

In 2015, a team of Mercy Corps engineers said that “Jordan right now is the third-poorest country in water. Our resources are limited. We don't have any rivers — we have no water sources except aquifers. The aquifers are depleting right now, we are losing several meters a year. It's becoming very alarming.”