The Red Sea and the Mediterranean Dead Sea canals project
August 2002
by Michael BeythChief Scientist of the Ministry of the National Infrastructures
Introduction
In the framework of the peace treaty between Israel and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan the integrated development Master Plan for the Jordan Rift Valley (JRV) was studied in the mid 1990's. The Red Sea - Dead Sea Canal (RSDSC) was considered to be one of the most important potential elements for implementing this Master Plan. The principal development objective of the RSDSC was to provide desalinated drinking water for the people of the area (the Harza JRV Group, 1996).
Contrary to the popular belief, Herzl's plan for hydroelectricity and Ludermilk's plan for irrigation were not the first of their kind. The first proposal for a Mediterranean - Dead Sea Canal (MDSC) and RSDSC was aired some 50 years before Herzl. The vision of a canal-a waterway that would connect the three water bodies that would be cheaper than the projected Suez Canal, was proposed by William Allen at 1855. This idea was conceived almost synchronously with the casual discovery that the Dead Sea Rift lies much lower than the global surface of the seas (see Vardi, 1990) .
As a result of the 1973 energy crisis and the search for alternative energy sources the idea to study the MDSC for the generation of electricity was revived and thoroughly studied. The goal of this project was to produce 800 MW during peak hours. The summary for these long studies were presented by the Mediterranean-Dead Sea Company and were the foundations for future studies (Mediterranean Sea-Dead Sea Company, 1984).
At the end of the 1980's and the beginning of the 1990'th a revaluation with a different major goal; using the process of hydrostatically supported reverse osmosis (RO) to provide a desalinated-sea water, was initiated by the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure (Tahal, 1994).
The MDSC and RSDSC are one of these extensive plans once have been placed on the agenda remains on it for a duration carrying with it special type of fascination and vision. It might never been realized but still involves a lot of ecology, limnology and geotechnic aspects which are changing hand in hand with the environmental and political changes. The goals of the three major alignments (Fig. 1), the major components and the environmental aspects are briefly discussed in this short note. Fig. 1. The three aligments suggested for sea water desalination.
The goals
From the time desalination of sea water was suggested as the major goal replacing hydroelectric power generation, the following two major tasks were defined:
Desalination of 800 to 850 MCM with 20 to 300 mg/l TDS, annually.
The Dead Sea (DS) level restoration at around 400 mbsl.
The first task is suggested as a partial solution for the water deficit existing and predicted for the region including Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority. According to the prefeasibility study carried out for the RSDSC the consumers in Amman will pay 1.34 US$/cm and in Hebron 1.11 US$/cm. The duration of the construction including the feasibility study will be around 13 years, the construction cost around 5x109 US$ and annual operational cost around 5x106 US$ (The Harza JRV Group, 1996). Different estimates and approaches are for the Katif and the Northern alignments which are much shorter (Tahal, 1994 and Ben Meir, 1996). In the Northern project a two stage desalination plant was suggested; the main stage will be at the Mediterranean coast where desalination up to 850 mg/l TDS will be carried out; Only at the second stage the hydrostatic energy potential of 300m elevation difference will be used for desalination which will reach 280 to 20 mg/l TDS. The cost was estimated to be between 0.67 to 0.58 US$/cm (Dvoskin and shafrir, 1997).
The second task of the Dead Sea level restoration was also strongly argument by our Jordanian colleagues. As a result of the regional irrigation projects most of the running water in the DS drainage basin is used and the water balance of the lake is negative. Also the potash industry of the Arab Potash Company and the Dead Sea Works at the DS Southern Basin are increasing the rate of evaporation. As a result the average annual DS drop is >80cm (Anati and Shasha, 1989), and the lake level reached 412.5m below sea level (Israel Hydrological Service, 1999, Fig. 2). This extreme drop causes a lot of damage to the development of the area around the DS (see environmental aspects). The only solution for such a drop in a desert environment with a growing population is importing Sea Water as a compensation for the water loss.
The alignments
Three alignments are discussed: The RSDSC, the Katif and the Northern alignment (Fig. 1). There are six major components which are common, with different specifications, to the three alignments:
1. Sea intake and pumping station.
The sea waters are pumped to +100masl at the Katif alignment and to +125 masl at the RSDSC. At the Northern alignment the cooling water from the Hedera Power Station are desalinated to 845 mgTDS.
2. Pressure pipeline.
The first part of the conveyance system transmit the sea water to the planned elevation. At the Katif alignment the length is 7.6km from Katif and at the RSDSC 5km from Aqaba and it's 3% of the whole alignment.
3. Canal and tunnel-the major conveyance system.
At the Katif and RSDSC alignments sea water are transmitted to the regulating and pretreatment reservoirs with a design flow of 60m3/sec. At the Katif alignment a 20km canal and 80km tunnel with 6m diameter were designed while at the RSDSC 121m tunnel with 7m diameter and 39km canal were designed. At the Northern alignment the partial desalinated sea water will be transmitted in a short tunnel below Mt. Carmel and in pipelines of a total length of 80km.
4. Regulating and pretreatment reservoirs.
At the Katif alignment a reservoir of 10MCM at +5masl at the upper basin of Nahal Parsa was designed. At the RSDSC the reservoirs were designed at +107masl at Wadi G'mal at the south eastern margin of the DS. At the Northern alignment at +43masl at Ramat Zvaiim.
5. Desalination plant.
The desalination plants are designed to be operated by using the process of hydrostatically supported reverse osmosis (RO) to provide desalinated sea water. At the RSDSC the plant will be located at Zafi at -365mbsl where with a water column of 475m. At the Katif alignment the plant will be located at Nahal Parsa at ~-390mbsl with a water column of 460m. With an annual flow of 2X109CM and a recovery of 45%, 1.1X109CM of rejected concentrates, will enter the DS. In the Northern alignment the plant will be located near Hamadia at an elevation of -258bsl with a water column of 300m.
6. Fresh water and reject brine carriers.
At the RSDSC two thirds of the 845MCM desalinated, fresh water are for Amman, Jordan and one third for the Palestinian Authority and Israel, Hebron and Jerusalem (The Harza JRV Group, 1996). For the transmission of the water to Amman a double pipeline of 200km with 2.75 m diameter was designed with nine pumping stations for the uplift of 1,500m. For the transmission to Hebron and Jerusalem a double pipeline of 125km with an elevation difference of 1,415m is designed. In the Northern alignment at the first stage only 200MCM with 20mgTDS/L will be transmitted along 35km to the Lake Kinneret. At the second stage 600 will be transmitted to Jordan. In the Katif alignment up to 800MCM will be transmitted annually and uplifted to 840masl to 1000masl from both sides of the Jordan Valley.
Environmental impact
One of the major ideas of the canal's project was to compensate the negative water balance (Fig. 2). The lake level for planning recommended for the Katif alignment was 390bsl (Mediterranean-Dead Sea Co., 1984) and only 12 years later for the RSDSC was 400bsl (The Harza JRV Group, 1996). Hence the second task, of the DS level restoration is getting more and more important. Two hazardous phenomena are probably resulting from this "rapid" level drop: The loss of groundwater due to the change of the groundwater gradient (The Harza JRV Group, 1996) and the formation of the so called "sinkholes" (Wakz et al., 1999). These in addition to direct planning problems in the changing level creates severe obstacles in developing this tourist attractive areas. The only way to overcome this problem is by adding sea water and create a positive balance between the running water and the loss by evaporation. But the inflow of sea water or concentrated rejects which build a upper light, stratified level may create a lower hypolimnion with reducing environment (Gavrieli, 2000), intensive precipitation of gypsum and a change of the biological environment of the upper epylimnion water mass. In addition to the limnological effects there are geotechnical considerations like building such a plant in a seismological active zone, the potential of water leakage and the contamination of the local aquifer. The Northern alignment has two advantages; 200MCM annually of desalinated water to Lake Kinneret will make the operation of Kinneret Diversion possible without effecting the water quality of the lake. The relative small amount of rejected concentrates in this alignment will not prevent an additional project if feasible.Fig. 2a. Dead Sea water level 1983-1996 (Gavrieli, 2000).
Fig 2b. Area and volume vs.lake levels (Hall and Neev, 1978).
Fif 2c. Data of the Hydrological Survey.
Summary
The RSDSC is the most expensive alternative between the three alignments also comparing to desalinated plants along the Mediterranean coast.
The save of the external sources of energy in these projects is around 22% only taking into account the pumping of the desalinated water to Amman and Jerusalem (Weiner, 1997 ).
The Northern alignment might be an integral part of the of the Central Water Carrier and the regional water system, enabling the construction of the "Kinneret Diversion" without negatively effecting the water quality of the lake. Because of the small amount of the rejected concentrates this alignment will not prevent the construction of an additional project like the Katif or the RSDSC.
The stratification and dilution of the DS water mass with sea water may cause losses for the Dead Sea Works and the Arab Potash Company, precipitation of gypsum and change the biological environment of the upper water mass.
References
Arad, V., Beyth, M., Bartov, Y. and Gavrieli., 1998, The Dead Sea and its surroundings, Geological and Limnological Research, Bibliography; Geological Survey of Israel Report GSI/2/98: 277p.
Ben-Meir, M., Kantor, S. and Shaham, G., 1996, Mediterranean Sea-Jordan River Basin Project, Highlights of the study: 12 p.
Beyth, M., Gertman, I., Weinstein, R. and Gavrieli, I., 1998, End Brine Mixing in the Dead Sea (July 20, 1998); Geological Survey of Israel Report GSI/30/98; 20 p.
Dvoskin, D. and Shafrir, Z., 1997, Feasibility study of desalination of sea water in the Northern Project in a divided and integrated plant (in Hebrew); Information Resources, Tel Aviv: 45 p.
Gavrieli, I., 2000, Expected effects of the infloat of seawater on the Dead Sea; GSI Current Research, 12:7-11.
Hall, J. and Neev, D., 1978, The Dead Sea Geophysical Surveys, 19 July-1 August 1974. Isr. Geol. Surv. Rep. MG/1/78: 28 p.
Israel Hydrological Service, 1999, Hydrological Data (Israel), July 1999, Jerusalem (in Hebrew): 25 p.
Mediterranean-Dead Sea co., 1984, Mediterranean-Dead Sea Project Planning and Prefeasibility, (in Hebrew); 114 p.
Tahal, 1994, Mediterranean-Dead Sea Hydroelectric Project: Updating of works for reevaluation of alternatives. Summary Report (in Hebrew): Prepared for the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure: 2 vols. vol 1-106 p., vol. 2-64 p.
The Harza JRV Group, 1996, Red Sea-Dead Sea Canal Project, Draft Prefeasibility Report, Main Report. Jordan Rift Valley Steering Committe of the Trilateral Economic Committee.
Vardi., J., 1990, Mediterranean-Dead Sea Project, Historical Review; in Geological Survey of Israel, Report GSI/9/90: pp. 31-50.
Wakz, D., Raz, E. and Shtibelman, w., 1999, The Research of the "Sinkholes" along the Dead Sea Coast: Interm. Repor. submitted to the Steering Committee; 21 p.
Weiner, D., 1997, Red Sea-Dead Sea Canal Project, Draft Prefeasibility Report (The Harza JRV Group) in Beyth, M., Comp., Comments-RSDSC Prefeasibility Draft Report (September 1996).Michael BeythChief ScientistMinistry of National Infrastructures234 Jaffa StreetJerusalem, IsraelTel. 972-2-5316129E-mail Mbeyth@mni.gov.il
Monday 26 February 2007
Sunday 25 February 2007
Architects developing a first vision for Red to Dead
And the dead shall live
Building, 2007 Issue 08 By Vikki Miller
Like many fixations, it started innocently enough – in this case during a late dinner in downtown Amman, Jordan. It was February 2005, and Huw Thomas was sitting in a busy restaurant with a Jordanian client and his wife. Thomas, a partner at architect Foster + Partners, was in town to discuss the firm’s latest commission, the redevelopment of Jordan’s main airport, Queen Alia International.
Over the din of the restaurant, the local businessman was complaining that he had too much work on. “He was upset because he was busy all the time,” Thomas recalls, back at Foster’s headquarters in west London. “But his wife was having none of it – she asked him, if things were so hectic, why was he getting involved with Red to Dead?”
“I said: ‘Red to Dead – what’s that then?’ He explained to me, briefly, that it was a plan to replenish the Dead Sea, which is shrinking, with water from the Red Sea via a pipeline. He was captivated by it and I thought: ‘Isn’t that an interesting idea?’”
A few days later, the preoccupation with Red to Dead had taken hold of Thomas, too. On the plane back to the UK, the architect got straight to work on the project that has transformed his life. Since then, he and a close-knit team of equally obsessed colleagues have spent hours of their own time drawing up plans for one of the most daring construction projects this century.
The Dead Sea lies in the heart of the Middle East, linking Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority and is the lowest place on Earth. But it is shrinking so quickly that politicians in the region have set aside their differences to work together to find a solution to replenish it within 50 years. Because of poor water management, the sea’s water level has fallen by more than 20m in less than half a century, and its surface level has dropped by two-thirds. The economic and tourism opportunities the water provides for those nearby is essential to their survival. Failure to reverse the decline will lead to an environmental and humanitarian disaster.
The problem has been testing the world’s best engineering and political minds for decades. As long ago as 1985, US consultant Bechtel developed a plan to link the Dead Sea to the Mediterranean but that was eventually shelved on cost grounds.
In May 2005, Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Authority announced a joint agreement to study the feasibility of transferring water from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea. They believe that a 180km
Red-Dead pipe, which would run along the Jordan/Israel border on the Jordanian side, could be the solution.
France, Japan, the Netherlands and the US have already pledged money for the project, and last month, deputy Israeli prime minister Shimon Peres met King Abdullah of Jordan on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, to discuss the next steps. Following 10 years of intense negotiations, the World Bank will launch a $15.5m (£8m) feasibility study next month on how to realise this audacious project.
“It’s a challenge. We could help bring water and power to the Middle East – it’s a fantastic opportunity”
Huw Thomas
Thomas and his team have been building up to this competition for the past two years. They have spent late nights and weekends at the office, and squeezed sessions inbetween other projects whenever they can. Yet despite this frenzy, Thomas exudes an air of calm and is puzzled why anyone would question his motivation. “It’s a challenge,” he says. “We could help bring water and power to the Middle East – it’s a fantastic opportunity.”
He does admit that his team is up against some tough international competition. “I expect we’ll come across the huge US engineering firms like Halliburton and Bechtel,” he says nonchalantly.
Thomas’ team has already worked with sustainability expert Battle McCarthy and engineer Buro Happold on the plans but it will take a more diverse team to beat the Americans, he says. “Once we’ve seen the brief, we’ll bring more people on board – engineers, cost consultants, economic advisers. Internationally, it’s a big deal.”
Despite never being officially on the Foster project books or the pay sheet, Red to Dead has become a pet project at the practice and has been pinned up at a number of design review sessions, and has had a lot of personal attention from the top dogs.
“Norman is a big fan,” Thomas says, proudly. “He takes it to lectures and talks about it to people all over the world. Recently, he’s talked about it in Germany and Hungary. A lot of others have had a hand in shaping it as well. David Nelson [deputy chairman] refers to it a lot and Spencer de Grey [also deputy chairman] has had a go.” For the past two years, Thomas has carried a copy of the plans on his laptop wherever he goes, so he can constantly update the scheme when an idea hits and show the presentation to anyone who is interested.
Thomas is tight-lipped about who exactly has seen the proposals so far. But he does reveal that members of the Jordanian government have viewed them informally, as have dozens of others in the Gulf region, including the head of an Israeli peace charity. “The top-level people are aware of it,” he says. “People know what we’re doing.”
The project itself is a minefield of technical challenges. Thomas and his team would have to transfer 19,000 million m3 of water every year along 180km – roughly the same length as the Suez canal. And, despite the Red Sea being 400m higher than its saltier cousin, the first stretch of the journey over land climbs steeply to 125m above Red Sea level.
The team has come up with an ingenious solution – or rather three separate solutions – for moving the water. For the first zone, Thomas and his team have calculated that 140 wind turbines would be needed to pump the water up the gradient, through a series of stepping reservoirs.
Once at the top, the start of zone two, the pipeline would become a boatable canal, which could also be used for farming and agriculture. “The question we asked ourselves was how could we best do this, to make the most of this opportunity?” Thomas says. “Everyone talks about a pipeline but we thought why not make it an open canal?”
“Norman is a big fan of this project. He takes it to lectures and talks about it to people all over the world”
Huw Thomas
Thomas and his team have gone to great lengths to consider every aspect of the project, which has evolved far beyond a simple canal. They have spent hours poring over data from weather sites, closely examined previous cases of sea replenishment (such as the Aral Sea in Kazakhstan), researched the history of the area, studied other developments in the region and delved into the intricacies of seaweed, fish and mangrove industries.
“Mangroves could produce biomass for both energy and livestock,” Thomas says. “You could also produce shrimp or fish such as tilapia in the ponds. They could become a cash crop. “I have a colleague from the Philippines whose father is a fish farmer,” he adds. “She helped us collate a lot of information. Did you know that seaweed farming is a huge growth business?”
Thomas points out that his plans would also allow people in the area to make money by selling carbon credits. “The mangroves take a lot of carbon out of the atmosphere because that’s what they feed on,” he says. “This would allow people in the region to claim carbon credits which they could then trade through an accredited scheme.”
In zone three, the final stretch, a series of dams would be used to create hydro power.
But the technical difficulties are only one of the threats to the future of Red to Dead. As with all politically sensitive projects in the Middle East, there are objections. Thomas has been informed that the opposition party in Jordan is against it because it contradicts an Arab League resolution not to work with Israel.
There are also environmentalists who attack the scheme, arguing that pumping less salty Red Sea water into the Dead Sea could release toxic gases and wipe out local plants and wildlife. Gidon Bromberg, Middle East representative of Friends of the Earth, said the Dead Sea could even change colour: “By bringing in the water, this composition will be changed. There is concern about algae growth and we could see the sea change from deep blue to red and brown.”
Friends of the Earth says it will petition the ombudsman of the World Bank if it decides to go ahead with Red to Dead without examining other possible options, such as better water management of the Jordan River, which is flowing at less than 10% of historic levels.
Thomas admits that nobody has yet studied the full environmental impact of Red to Dead. “There are big questions over certain aspects of the proposals,” he says. “For example, would an open canal mean more rain for the area and would the microclimate be able to cope? The truth is, we don’t know.”
Despite this, the World Bank has vowed to forge ahead with the feasibility study, which will kick-start the process and run until August 2009, and Thomas and his team are determined to bid. The race is on to save the Dead Sea – and it might just be won by a British architect obsessed with making the desert bloom.
Saturday 3 February 2007
Red Sea - Dead Sea Water Conveyance Feasibility Study and Environmental and Social Assessment
The declining water level of the Dead Sea has far reaching environmental, social, and economic consequences for the Dead Sea region and beyond. The water level of the Dead Sea has fallen over twenty meters in less than fifty years. The current rate of decline is approximately one meter per year. The consequent impacts on the region of the shrinking Sea are varied, numerous, and may soon become irreversible.
On May 22, 2005 at the annual World Economic Forum - Dead Sea, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the State of Israel and the Palestinian Authority (in this website hereinafter referred to as the "beneficiary parties") announced their agreement and commitment to study the feasibility of transferring water from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea as a solution to stop the rapidly declining level of the Dead Sea. The three parties cooperatively prepared the terms of reference (TOR) for the Feasibility Study and Environmental and Social Assessment (the "Study") of a water transference from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea. In a jointly signed letter, the beneficiary parties requested the World Bank to coordinate donor support and manage the Study. The World Bank agreed and will manage the Study in accordance with its established policies and guidelines. This web site provides information on the status of the Study process and will, in due course, serve as a channel for public information, dialogue, and input.
Water transport from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea in order to prevent further decline of the Dead Sea's water level requires an in-depth feasibility study. The beneficiary parties share a vision for saving the Dead Sea. This vision involves conveying water from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea to reverse environmental degradation and generate water and energy at affordable prices for the region. This vision represents a symbol of peace and cooperation in the Middle East. The TOR prepared by the beneficiary parties stipulates a comprehensive investigation of the environmental, economic, social and technical implications of this water conveyance concept.
The Dead Sea is a site of exceptional historic, cultural, economic, and environmental importance for the Middle East and for the world. Furthermore, the Study offers a major opportunity for those who live in the lower Jordan Valley to work together and strengthen relationships among neighbors while addressing an environmental and water scarcity challenge of regional and global interest and significance. The beneficiary parties believe that the Study process itself promises to contribute to further cooperation.
The Study will consider environmental, economic, technical, social, and financial aspects of the concept, and shall not prejudice the riparian rights of any of the beneficiary parties.
On May 22, 2005 at the annual World Economic Forum - Dead Sea, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the State of Israel and the Palestinian Authority (in this website hereinafter referred to as the "beneficiary parties") announced their agreement and commitment to study the feasibility of transferring water from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea as a solution to stop the rapidly declining level of the Dead Sea. The three parties cooperatively prepared the terms of reference (TOR) for the Feasibility Study and Environmental and Social Assessment (the "Study") of a water transference from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea. In a jointly signed letter, the beneficiary parties requested the World Bank to coordinate donor support and manage the Study. The World Bank agreed and will manage the Study in accordance with its established policies and guidelines. This web site provides information on the status of the Study process and will, in due course, serve as a channel for public information, dialogue, and input.
Water transport from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea in order to prevent further decline of the Dead Sea's water level requires an in-depth feasibility study. The beneficiary parties share a vision for saving the Dead Sea. This vision involves conveying water from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea to reverse environmental degradation and generate water and energy at affordable prices for the region. This vision represents a symbol of peace and cooperation in the Middle East. The TOR prepared by the beneficiary parties stipulates a comprehensive investigation of the environmental, economic, social and technical implications of this water conveyance concept.
The Dead Sea is a site of exceptional historic, cultural, economic, and environmental importance for the Middle East and for the world. Furthermore, the Study offers a major opportunity for those who live in the lower Jordan Valley to work together and strengthen relationships among neighbors while addressing an environmental and water scarcity challenge of regional and global interest and significance. The beneficiary parties believe that the Study process itself promises to contribute to further cooperation.
The Study will consider environmental, economic, technical, social, and financial aspects of the concept, and shall not prejudice the riparian rights of any of the beneficiary parties.
The Sunday Times; September 03, 2006
Race is on to save the Dead Sea
Robert Booth
Jordan calls in architect Foster
LORD FOSTER, the British architect, has been enlisted by the King of Jordan for his most grandiose project yet — a canal carved through the Sinai desert to rescue the Dead Sea from environmental disaster.
He has already held talks with the governments of Israel and Jordan about a $3 billion (£1.57 billion) scheme to transfer water from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea.
NI_MPU('middle');
His proposal is to carry sea water from the Gulf of Aqaba to replenish the Dead Sea, which has shrunk by a third over the past 50 years and faces total evaporation. At stake is the area’s delicate ecology and a tourist industry — that draws 100,000 Britons each year — centred on the sea’s mineral-rich waters and mud.
A sequence of canals and pipelines would channel sea water down through the arid Arava valley in southern Israel and Jordan to the salt lake at the lowest point on earth, 415 metres below sea level.
Action is urgently needed. Over the past 50 years the Dead Sea’s depth has fallen by 20 metres. The so-called “Red to Dead” plan is to reverse this fall, which has been so dramatic that it has left the Israeli spa resort of Ein Gedi a mile from the water’s edge.
Foster’s intervention is the latest in a series of increasingly ambitious schemes by the architect. Last month he revealed plans for the 2,000ft Moscow City Tower, to cost £830m and house 25,000 people, and he is building the world’s largest new airport in Beijing.
Now 71, he has timed his proposal to coincide with an agreement between the leaders of Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Authority to spend a $15m World Bank grant on investigating the feasibility of a canal project.
Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, and Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, have recently signed letters expressing their commitment to the project, despite the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel. The study will be financed by France, America, the Netherlands and Japan.
It is understood that Foster has personally promoted his version of the plan in informal meetings with senior Israeli officials over the last 18 months, and with a presentation in Amman to representatives of Jordan’s King Abdullah.
The one metre a year fall in the level of the Dead Sea has already left the surrounding terrain unstable and prone to cave in, which puts roads, hotels and chemical plants around the sea in jeopardy. Oases have also been disrupted, affecting bird migrations and desert wildlife, including ibex, gazelles and even leopards.
According to Gidon Bromberg, the Israeli director of Friends of the Earth in the Middle East, the reduction has been caused by the diversion of the River Jordan, which feeds the Dead Sea, for irrigation and drinking water — mostly by Israel, but also by Jordan and Syria. Today, less than 7% of the river’s original flow reaches the sea.
“A river holy to half of humanity has been reduced to little more than an open sewer,” said Bromberg.
Guy Battle, Foster’s environmental engineer on the project, said this weekend that the plan includes vast desalination plants along the canal to provide fresh water to make the desert bloom and supply drinking water. It is hoped that these facilities, which use the heat of the desert sun to evaporate sea water under a translucent bubble roof, could help reduce regional disputes over water.
Ariel Sharon, the ailing former Israeli prime minister, once called Israel’s diversion of the River Jordan in 1964 the spark that led to the six day war in 1967. Palestinians are still forbidden to sink new wells.
Foster’s office confirmed that he had completed preliminary studies and said the firm was awaiting further instruction from the Jordanian government.
An aide to Shimon Peres, the Israeli deputy prime minister, said: “We have had talks with the Jordanians, and they want to advance this. King Abdullah wants it the most because most of [the structure] would be built in Jordan.”
The three-way project had the potential to boost the peace process, said Peres.
At the northern end of the route, there would be a hydro-electric plant.
However, Friends of the Earth warned that mixing water from the Red Sea with the unique chemical soup of the Dead Sea could create a natural catastrophe. “The [Dead Sea’s] mix of bromide, potash, magnesium and salt is like no other body of water on the planet,” said Bromberg. “By bringing in the marine water, this composition will be changed. There is concern about algae growth and we could see the sea change from deep blue to red and brown and the different waters could separate.”
Robert Booth
Jordan calls in architect Foster
LORD FOSTER, the British architect, has been enlisted by the King of Jordan for his most grandiose project yet — a canal carved through the Sinai desert to rescue the Dead Sea from environmental disaster.
He has already held talks with the governments of Israel and Jordan about a $3 billion (£1.57 billion) scheme to transfer water from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea.
NI_MPU('middle');
His proposal is to carry sea water from the Gulf of Aqaba to replenish the Dead Sea, which has shrunk by a third over the past 50 years and faces total evaporation. At stake is the area’s delicate ecology and a tourist industry — that draws 100,000 Britons each year — centred on the sea’s mineral-rich waters and mud.
A sequence of canals and pipelines would channel sea water down through the arid Arava valley in southern Israel and Jordan to the salt lake at the lowest point on earth, 415 metres below sea level.
Action is urgently needed. Over the past 50 years the Dead Sea’s depth has fallen by 20 metres. The so-called “Red to Dead” plan is to reverse this fall, which has been so dramatic that it has left the Israeli spa resort of Ein Gedi a mile from the water’s edge.
Foster’s intervention is the latest in a series of increasingly ambitious schemes by the architect. Last month he revealed plans for the 2,000ft Moscow City Tower, to cost £830m and house 25,000 people, and he is building the world’s largest new airport in Beijing.
Now 71, he has timed his proposal to coincide with an agreement between the leaders of Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Authority to spend a $15m World Bank grant on investigating the feasibility of a canal project.
Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, and Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, have recently signed letters expressing their commitment to the project, despite the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel. The study will be financed by France, America, the Netherlands and Japan.
It is understood that Foster has personally promoted his version of the plan in informal meetings with senior Israeli officials over the last 18 months, and with a presentation in Amman to representatives of Jordan’s King Abdullah.
The one metre a year fall in the level of the Dead Sea has already left the surrounding terrain unstable and prone to cave in, which puts roads, hotels and chemical plants around the sea in jeopardy. Oases have also been disrupted, affecting bird migrations and desert wildlife, including ibex, gazelles and even leopards.
According to Gidon Bromberg, the Israeli director of Friends of the Earth in the Middle East, the reduction has been caused by the diversion of the River Jordan, which feeds the Dead Sea, for irrigation and drinking water — mostly by Israel, but also by Jordan and Syria. Today, less than 7% of the river’s original flow reaches the sea.
“A river holy to half of humanity has been reduced to little more than an open sewer,” said Bromberg.
Guy Battle, Foster’s environmental engineer on the project, said this weekend that the plan includes vast desalination plants along the canal to provide fresh water to make the desert bloom and supply drinking water. It is hoped that these facilities, which use the heat of the desert sun to evaporate sea water under a translucent bubble roof, could help reduce regional disputes over water.
Ariel Sharon, the ailing former Israeli prime minister, once called Israel’s diversion of the River Jordan in 1964 the spark that led to the six day war in 1967. Palestinians are still forbidden to sink new wells.
Foster’s office confirmed that he had completed preliminary studies and said the firm was awaiting further instruction from the Jordanian government.
An aide to Shimon Peres, the Israeli deputy prime minister, said: “We have had talks with the Jordanians, and they want to advance this. King Abdullah wants it the most because most of [the structure] would be built in Jordan.”
The three-way project had the potential to boost the peace process, said Peres.
At the northern end of the route, there would be a hydro-electric plant.
However, Friends of the Earth warned that mixing water from the Red Sea with the unique chemical soup of the Dead Sea could create a natural catastrophe. “The [Dead Sea’s] mix of bromide, potash, magnesium and salt is like no other body of water on the planet,” said Bromberg. “By bringing in the marine water, this composition will be changed. There is concern about algae growth and we could see the sea change from deep blue to red and brown and the different waters could separate.”
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