13/10/2004 Rafi Benvenisti 1

The Second Israeli-Palestinian International Conference

on “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 of 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

0 100 200 300 400 500

Time (yr)

1050

900

600 - no DSPI

600

DSPI stop pumping

300

0

-350

1500

?

6 3Input (10 m )

Future Dead Sea Water Levels (bellow sea level)

(Under different water input assumptions)

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1987

-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

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11/021/45

Kaneh Springs

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North of Ein Gedi

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Nahal Dragot

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Ein Bokek Area

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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 of 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.