Water D2D

Water Security: from Data to Decision (WaterD2D)

The pilot project in the Mujib Basin will exemplify how innovative solutions for societal challenges can be developed through close cooperation between science and practice.

The WaterD2D project focuses on the concept of water security with the task to assess and contribute to water availability in order to align with demand in the long run. Based on the outcomes of the preparatory phase, Mujib Basin is selected as the project pilot area. The study area can be seen in the map below. 

Wadi Mujib basin lies in the central part of Jordan with a watershed area of 6727 km2. Two main wadies cross the basin; Wadi al Walah and Wadi  Mujib emerge into a single course (i.e., Mujib River). The average rainfall  varying from 70 mm to 350 mm from south to north of the basin. It has significantly dropped over the last 30 years and is suffering from extreme events. The total annual discharge of the river is estimated at 84 MCM/y. Mujib dam and Walah Dam with, respectively, reservoir capacities of 30 MCM to store the flood and the base flow and about 8 MCM to be used for artificial recharge for downstream aquifers and irrigated agriculture are constructed. Groundwater is used for domestic purposes in Karak and Madaba cities and other areas (e.g., Amman) and irrigation. The basin hosts many industrial and mining activities like phosphate and potash industry, using respectively about 6 MCM and 12 MCM of water.

Furthermore, the adverse effects of water mismanagement and over-pumping can be seen in this area, where land degradation and flash floods are among the main concerns. The basin needs a comprehensive IWRM plan taking into consideration the climate change effects. The management plan should conclude new strategies for climate change adaptation measures and new water allocation and conservation strategies

Mujib Basin

Prof. Dr. Michael Schneider

Prof. Michael Schneider leads the research team for the WaterD2D project at the Free University of Berlin. Since 2006, he has been the head of the Hydrogeology Group at the Free University of Berlin and was a Professor of Hydrogeology at Ludwig Maximilian University at Munich (2004-2006). Prof. Schneider has more than 30 years’ experience in Hydrogeology and Environmental Geology in Eu­ro­pe, Asia and Afri­ca. His re­se­arch fo­cus is on Urban Water Resources, Ma­na­ged Aqui­fer Re­char­ge (MAR), Deep Aqui­fer Sy­stems and In­ter­ac­tion with shal­low aqui­fers. He has led several applied-oriented research projects in Germany, Middle East, and India.

Dr. Brindha Karthikeyan

Dr. Brindha Karthikeyan is the WaterD2D Project Coordinator at the Free University of Berlin. She is a Water Resources Researcher by academic training with a specialization in Hydrogeochemistry, Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR), and Climate Change. Before joining the Free University of Berlin in 2018, she worked at the National University of Singapore, International Water Management Institute (IWMI) – Lao PDR, and Anna University, India.

Isabelle Schmidt

Isabelle Schmidt is project coordinator and phd student at FU Berlin since 2020. She is an environmental engineer with specialization in Water Resources Management. Before joining the Hydrogoelogy Group, she worked for the WHO collaborating center for drinking water hygiene at the German Environment Agency.

Dr. Arwa Abdelhay

Dr. Arwa Abdelhay holds a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of Grenoble in France and an M.Sc. and B.Sc. in chemical engineering from Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST). For the past three years, Dr. Abdelhay held the Dean position for the School of Natural Resources Engineering and Management (SNREM) at GJU. Her teaching activities focus on water and wastewater treatment and reuse, air pollution control, and solid waste management. She has been involved in several internationally funded projects, as a coordinator and as a team member in the area of wastewater treatment, sanitation, and solid waste valorization and treatment.

Dr. Munjed Al-Sharif

Dr. Munjed Al-Sharif is a Senior Water and Environmental Management Expert holding a Ph.D. in water resources and Environmental Engineering from Kansas State University (1993). Since March 2013, he has been a faculty member at the Civil and Environmental Engineering department at GJU. He also served as the Dean of the School of Natural Resources Engineering and Management (SNREM) at GJU (2015-2019) and currently is the Dean of Graduate Studies. Dr. Al-Sharif has around 25 years of experience in Integrated Water Resources Management, Groundwater and Surface Water Modeling and Management (quantity and quality), Climate Change Adaptation, Environmental Management, Institutional Strengthening, Water Policy, and Public-Private Partnership. He led many projects funded by various international agencies and institutions, including USAID, MDGF, UNDP, WHO, government institutions, and private firms. Dr. Al-Sharif published more than 25 research and technical papers, wrote numerous reports, and served as a reviewer of professional journals. Also, he is a board member of the Jordan Environment Fund since 2018.   

Prof. Dr-Ing. Markus Disse

Since 2013 Prof. Markus Disse served as the Head of the chair Hydrology and River Basin Management at the Technical University of Munich and was a full professor of the Chair for Water Management and Resources Engineering at Bundeswehr University Munich (2003-2013). Prof. Disse Holds a PhD from the University of Karlsruhe (TH) with an educational background in civil engineering. His research experience in process-based hydrological modeling of river basins, flood risk management, and sustainable management of water resources spans over 30 years. 

Prof. Dr. Gabriele Chiogna

Prof. Gabriele Chiogna serves as the Deputy Head of the Chair of Hydrology and River Basin Management at the Technical University of Munich. Also, he is an Adjunct Professor of Sustainable Resources Management at the University of Innsbruck in Austria. Prof. Chiogna received his Ph.D. in Geology from the University of Tuebingen in 2011. Afterward, he worked as a Post-Doc at the University of Trento (2011-2013) and the University of Tuebingen (2013-2014). He obtained his habilitation in hydrology in 2019 at TUM. His research focus is on Integrated Water Resources Management, Groundwater Modeling, and Groundwater Remediation Strategies. He leads several national and international research projects funded by different agencies (DFG, BMBF, and European Commission).

Mohammad Alqadi

Mr. Mohammad Alqadi is a Ph.D. candidate at the Chair of Hydrology and River Basin Management at the Technical University of Munich. His Doctoral research focus is on Integrated Water Resources Management, Wellfield Management, and Governmental Strategies for the water sector in Jordan. He is also an experienced Hydrogeologist with a demonstrated history of working in the groundwater management sector with the German Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) in Jordan. Mr. Alqadi holds a master’s degree focused on Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) from Cologne University of Applied Sciences.

Ala Al Dwairi

Ms. Ala Al Dwairi works as a Research Assistant at the Chair of Hydrology and River Basin Management at the Technical University of Munich. Before joining TUM, she interned at the World Green Building Council as technical support for the Sustainable Reconstruction and Urban Regeneration project. Ms. Al Dwairi holds a Joint Master Degree in Urban Climate and Sustainability from the United Kingdom, Finland, Spain, and a B.Sc. in Civil Engineering from Jordan. She previously worked in engineering consultancy companies focusing on infrastructure networks design and development in Jordan and the wider Middle East (2014-2018). Her research focus is on sustainable resources management.

Fabian Merk

Mr.Fabian Merk is a Ph.D. candidate at the Chair of Hydrology and River Basin Management at the Technical University of Munich. Mr Merk graduated with a B.Sc and an M.Sc in environmental engineering from TU Munich in 2014 and 2017, respectively. His topics of focus were water resource management and flood risk management. In 2018, he joined the research team at the university’s Chair of Hydrology to support the ProNaHo project, which investigated the potential of ecosystem-based flood mitigation measures in Bavaria, and in 2021, he joined the WaterD2D project to build up the Soil & Water Assessment Tool for Mujib basin.

Prof. Dr. Lars Ribbe

Prof Dr Lars Ribbe is the dean of the Faculty of Spatial Development and Infrastructure Systems, and professor for Integrated Land and Water Resources Management at ITT/TH Köln. He is a leading expert and authority on the water-energy-food-security nexus and it’s functionality. Prof Dr Ribbe’s research projects range around the world on subjects as varied as drought, the food-water-energy nexus, ecosystem management, tracking groundwater with gravimetric shifts, and advanced watershed management systems. Prof Dr Ribbe has a PhD in Hydroinformatics, from the Institute of Geography, Faculty of Chemistry and Earth Sciences at the University of Jena, a Masters of Engineering on “Technology in the Tropics” from TH Köln, and did postgraduate studies on Marine, Estuarine and Environmental Science (visiting postgraduate student) at the University of Maryland, along with a Chemistry (Dipl.Chem) degree from the University Bremen. His research focus is currently on integrated river basin monitoring, modeling, and management, along with strategies to cope with water scarcity, rainwater harvesting, drought management, the efficient use and reuse of water, access to water, flood management, and pollution from salt water intrusion, and diffuse sources.

Dr. Sudeh Dehnavi

Dr Sudeh Dehnavi is a researcher, lecturer and project coordinator at the Institute for Technology and Resources Management in the Tropics and Sub-tropics (ITT) at TH Köln (University of Applied Sciences) in Germany. She is currently the coordinator of the IWRM MENA program and the “Water Security in Jordan from Data to Decision” project at ITT. She is an expert in sustainable development of food and water systems especially in the fields of natural resources and agricultural economics and Governance, and food and water security and sustainability entrepreneurship. Her experience is focused on strategic planning and scientific coordination of international development projects and networks, and the design and implementation of international scientific conferences, science-policy dialogue workshops, and educational programs and excursions.

Dr. Marwan Alraggad

Dr Alraggad is an expert in advanced water management aspects focusing on water use modeling and management with applied research experience in the domain of water management and research for development. He is an expert/specialist in hydrological, topological modeling and water management, as well as in geographic information systems. He furthermore possesses solid and applied experience in groundwater investigations, monitoring and management as well as excellent field and in class training capacity skills. With more than 13 years of research and applied activities in hydrological, topological modelling and water management he is highly experienced and has published several scientific papers, such as “Water Resources of Jordan: Political, Social and Economic Implications of Scarce Water Resources” (Springer International Publishing, 2018). He has solid consultancy experience working at the Ministry of Water and on USAID projects. He has led the USAID funded project MAR TWW during 2012 – 2015 in partnership with Oman and USA which aimed to maximize the benefit of excess surface water flows for Managed Aquifer Recharge. Most recently he led 5 international projects in the domain sustainable management of water resources with a special focus on treated waste water reuse to increase agricultural productivity.