Reactivation of Ancient Water Delivery System in Jordan

Calvin archeology and engineering students team up with Jordanian experts to restore an ancient water system and supply water to a community experiencing scarcity reservoir system. (Project Initiation: January 2017)

The challenge

Waves of refugees straining an already water-starved environment

What we do

1. Evaluate the system's surface water supply. This involves delineating the water basin, assessing the quality of the water, hydrologic modeling, and flooding mitigation.
2. Assess current conditions of the system through mapping and hydrologic and hydraulic modeling.
3. Evaluate the system's future operation — its adequacy to respond to the demand for water in surrounding communities. This involves designing options for the repurposed system, providing optimized capacity with minimized archeological compromise.

Academic disciplines

• Geography
• Chemistry
• Public health
• Engineering
• History/archeology
• Political science

The Impact

• Local
• Regional

Questions/contact