In August 2018, the Jordan Times reported that Jordan and the US had signed two grant agreements totalling $166 million. Of this, $13.8 million went to the Zara-Maeen treatment plant, where pumping and operating systems were to be overhauled with energy-saving pumps. The plant desalinated saline water from the Mujib, Zara and Maeen wadis and sent 110,000 to 115,000 m³/day through a 41 km pipeline to Amman. A further $152.1 million was set aside for new pipes and smart water meters.
The report showed that in 2018 Jordan linked the desalination of saline surface water with efforts to cut network losses, which its water strategy aimed to reduce from 43 to 25 percent by 2025.