Basin Water Issues 13/10/2004 Rafi Benvenisti 1 13/10/2004 Rafi - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

13/10/2004 Rafi Benvenisti 1

The Second Israeli-Palestinian International Conference

• n “Water for Life in the Middle East”

Addressing the Dead Sea Basin Water Issues

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The Dead Sea Water Basin

• Total Area

41,000 Sq. Km

– Jordan River 19,000 Sq. Km – Dead Sea 22,000 Sq. Km

• Annual Water Availability

1,800 MCM/yr

– Jordan River 1,500 MCM/yr – Dead Sea 350 MCM/yr

• Annual Water Use

– Jordan River 1,400 MCM/yr – Dead Sea (Potash plants – net) 250 MCM/yr

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Water Balances

• The Jordan River

150 MCM/yr

(Incl. Brackish Water and Sewage)

• The Dead Sea - Net
• 600 MCM/yr

– Surface Evaporation

• 800 MCM/yr

– Potash Works

• 250 MCM/yr

– Total

• 1,050 MCM/yr

– Jordan River 150 MCM/yr – Other 300 MCM/yr – Total 450 MCM/yr

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Water Use in the Basin by Political Entities

• Jordan River

– Israel & the Palestinians 50%

(one third of annual consumption)

– Jordan 27%

(one third of annual consumption)

– Syria 21% – Lebanon 2%

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Additional Threats to the Water Balances

New water projects in the riparian countries:

– Surface water in: Lebanon, Jordan in the Yarmuk, Israel & Jordan in the Jorden River (the peace agreement), the Mujib river in Jordan, etc. – Desalination of brackish water in Israel & Jordan. – Recycling of waste water (fish ponds and sewage)

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Main Water Issues in the Basin

• Water allocation to the riparian

countries

• Water management in the riparian

countries

• The future of the River Jordan
• The future of the Dead Sea

The water allocation and management issues will be dealt in other forums

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Environmental and Economic Threats

• Shrinkage of the Jordan river and

its habitat.

• Shrinkage of the Dead Sea with

major environmental and economic damage.

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Approaches to Ways to Address the Threats (1)

• The overall approach that will initiate

agreements on water allocation, water management, the future of the Jordan River and the Dead Sea. The end result will be a renewed flow of surface water in the Jordan river to resolve the Jordan and Dead Sea threats.

• The limitations are the very high “transaction

costs” because of the very complex internal and external political problems.

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Approaches to Ways to Address the Threats (2)

• Independent approaches to each of the

pending issues with international coordination.

– Water allocation to the riparian countries – Water management in the riparian countries – The future of the Jordan River and – The Future of the Dead Sea

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Possible Ways to Address The Jordan River Issues

• An agreed freeze on future surface

water projects in the Jordan basin

• An agreement to prevent the flows of

waste water to the Jordan and the use

• f recycled and brackish water to

renew the Jordan River flows

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The Dead Sea water Level

In 2004 the level was -416. Annual decline is one meter.

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• 650
• 600
• 550
• 500
• 450
• 400

100 200 300 400 500

Time (yr)

1050 900 600 - no DSPI 600 DSPI stop pumping 300

• 350

1500

?

6 3

Input (10 m )

Future Dead Sea Water Levels (bellow sea level)

(Under different water input assumptions)

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• 404

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Damages in the Dead Sea

• Receding seashores
• Destruction of natural habitats
• Changes in landscapes and damages

to structures and infrastructure

13/10/2004 Rafi Benvenisti 16 11/02 1/45 Kaneh Springs

13/10/2004 Rafi Benvenisti 17 North of Ein Gedi

13/10/2004 Rafi Benvenisti 18 Nahal Dragot

13/10/2004 Rafi Benvenisti 19 Ein Bokek Area

13/10/2004 Rafi Benvenisti 20 Ein Gedi

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The Red-Sea Dead-Sea Conduit (RSDS)

The Vision

• Saving the Dead Sea
• Making drinking water available at

affordable prices mainly to Jordan

• Building a symbol of peace and

cooperation in the Middle East

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Concept Configuration

• The Red Sea - Dead Sea (RSDS) sea

water Conduit – (The “Peace Conduit”)

• Desalination/Power plants in the Dead

Sea

• Fresh Water Conveyance system

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The Concept of the RSDS Projects (1)

• The dual objectives and sets of benefits
• Saving the Dead Sea – Generating

environmental and tourism benefits to cover the cost of the Red Sea Dead Sea Conduit

• Making drinking water available in Amman at

a cost of about 1.25 dollar per cubic meter (lower than the alternative cost of water in Amman in the year 2020)

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The Concept of the RSDS Projects (2)

• The Red Sea Dead Sea Conduit will be

financed by donor countries. It will be built and operated by the private sector.

• The desalination/power plants and

conveyance of fresh water will be built in stages, and owned and operated by the private sector.

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The Red-Sea Dead-Sea Conduit

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Environmental Issues

• Potential changes in the Dead Sea

composition with possible affects on the appearance of the sea and the operations

• f the potash factories.
• Potential damages to the environment in

the Gulf of Aqaba.

• Potential damage to the aquifer in the

Arava Valley

• The issues need further study and the

building of a dynamic limnological model is essential before detailed design of the project.