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This study was carried out to investigate the influence of population growth on supply, demand, and quality issues of water resources in the Yarmouk River Basin in Jordan for twenty years. The population growth data for the years 1997 and 2017 was derived from four Jordan governorates, i.e., Mafraq, Irbid, Jerash, and Ajloun, as well as for the population of the Yarmouk Basin was calculated, where a part of the population of these governorates resides within Basin. The water supply and the number of wells were also determined during this study. Various physicochemical parameters of water, like pH, EC, TDS, DO, NO2, and NO3, were also evaluated. Water supply, demand, and quality issues were also identified in collaboration with relevant stakeholders. The study showed an increase in the Kingdom's population in four governorates from about 1.27 to 2.88 million inhabitants, while the population of four governorates in the Yarmouk Basin increased from about 639,992 to 1.53 million inhabitants, and it is more than doubling. Comparing the population with the water supply, the numbers of wells and their uses showed significant changes, as evidenced by the substantial increase in the water supply. The studied physiochemical parameters were within the permissible limits of the National Standards. The critical water issues reported in the study area are difficulties in law enforcement and rapid population growth, which interactively affect the water supply. The study's findings will assist decision-makers in managing future water supplies as they face challenges in securing additional water, and there is an urgent need for research and future scenarios to meet water needs.

The current study was undertaken to assess the physicochemical quality of the Kufranja dam (KD) surface water in northern Jordan during the summer and winter seasons [2019]. The samples were analyzed for temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, major cations, major anions, and heavy metals. Most of the physicochemical parameters exhibited a similar spatial distribution, where the maximum concentrations were observed at the dam's entrance, while the minimum concentrations were recorded at the dam's end. This indicates that the factors affecting their occurrence and distribution are the same, including natural discharges from the surrounding catchment areas, weathering products, agricultural activities, and wastewater effluents that enter the dam via Wadi Kufranja. All the physicochemical parameters and heavy metals in KD water lie below the maximum permissible levels of the Jordanian and international standards for drinking and irrigation, except for EC values that are above WHO standards for drinking. The application of the water quality index (WQI) depicts that the KD water is chemically unsuitable for use in drinking and needs proper treatment before use. The irrigation indices (SAR, Na%, and MH) indicate that the KD water is chemically suitable for irrigation, whereas EC results and USSL diagram showed that the dam's water is suitable for irrigation and belongs to the categories of good to permissible for irrigation. Therefore, KD water is suitable for irrigation of most soils (except soils with low salt tolerance). Crops with good salt tolerance are recommended and a special treatment of salinity might be required.