Water Resources Development, Vol. 11, No. 3, 1995 An Analysis of Future Water Policies in Jordan Using Decision Support Systems ODEH RASHED AL-JAYYOUSI 1 & MUHAMMAD RASHID SHATANAWI 2 1 Civil Engineering Department, Applied Science University, Amman, Jordan; 2 Water and Environment Research and Study Center, University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan ABSTRACT Despite looming water shortages in Jordan, the country lacks a coherent water policy and has no recognized institutional mechanism to create one. During the last 30 years, this critical problem has largely been addressed by physical infrastructure development in the public sector and groundwater exploitation in the private. These efforts are not meeting the increasing demands of all competing sectors. This paper analyses possible future water policies in Jordan using decision support systems. An analytical hierarchy process is used to break policies into component parts, then synthesize and analyse them in the context of constraints and scenarios in Jordan for the year 2010. The paper argues that Jordan must give priority to the ef®cient management of water resources at the regional level. This includes institutional restructuring, new water pricing strategies, importation of water, and water desalination. Introduction During the past three decades, the development of water resources in Jordan has been limited largely to building hydraulic structures in the public sector and exploiting of groundwater in the private. These efforts were intended to increase agricultural production and to meet the demands of a growing population. Supply-side efforts never met the increasing demands, and the result was continuous water shortages. The shortage of water in Jordan is reaching crisis proportions, even though municipal and irrigation supplies are already rationed. The growth in demand has led to the exhaustion of surface water and to the overextraction of groundwater. By overdrawing its groundwater aquifers, Jor- dan is losing an irreplaceable supply, increasing water costs and lowering the water quality. During this 30-year period, Jordan has had no clear water policy that might have led to a sustainable solution to the water problem given the constraints on resources. The constraints on water resources in Jordan are increasing. The appearance of externalities has made the government focus more on income growth objec- tives than on policy development, income distribution and environmental con- cerns. Therefore, there is a need to focus greater attention on the further impacts of water resources planning and development. This shift requires a careful analysis of strategies and policies that can be formulated in order to gain insights into solution procedures. The analysis will 315 0790±0627/95/030315±16 1995 Journals Oxford Ltd