Who will save the Dead Sea from dying?

The Dead Sea: The salt deposits are a wonderful sight but the sea is in danger of drying up soon beyond the sustainable limit. The water level is hitting dangerous record lows, losing almost a meter per year. The lake surface presently is nearly 400 meters (1,300 feet) below sea level, making it the lowest spot on Earth.



Lately the shopping centers around the world are flooded with a new generation of cosmetic products prepared with chemicals and minerals from the Dead Sea: Facial creams, Lotions, Body mud, Bath salt, Scrubs, Balms, Herbal sachets etc. The healing power of these products seems to have reached a universal marketing network and has legions of consumers.



And yet, paradoxically, the Dead Sea itself is dying. It may well dry up within fifty years if water is not replenished to raise the level, but no one seems to do much about it.



Healing skins and offering a fresh healthy skin to women are laudable objectives to achieve. No one denies that. Excavating and selling tons and tons of potash and other minerals is very helpful to the Israeli and Jordanian economies. Building new luxurious hotels and spas all around the Dead Sea seems sound investments as they keep the tourists coming to heal their bodies and minds.



However, the fundamental question is still not addressed after decades of discussion and inaction: Who will save the Dead Sea from totally drying up?





The Dead Sea shrinking water levels have already split it into two non communicating lobes. The Jordan River from the North is bringing in less and less water to the lake due to extensive irrigation projects. Both Israel (left) and Jordan (right) are not doing nothing substantial to save the Sea. Also note the totally arid landscape. Deep waters are dark blue, while pale blue shows salt ponds and shallow wetlands to the south.



The Dead Sea is a small lake, presently between Jordan and the occupied West Bank and Israel proper. Beside being the lowest point on earth, about 420m (1380 ft) below sea level, it is also one of the saltiest lakes in the world. The surrounding areas is mostly very arid mountains, with many visible man made and natural caves both for human settlements and more recent military purposes. The lake and the area is extremely rich a wide range of chemicals and minerals, most importantly potash that is extensively used in manufacturing fertilizers as well as magnesium etc. And of course those magic and not so magic cosmetic products flooding the world markets.



But here are some very disturbing data about the lake:



-The Dead Sea has been shrinking at the rate of one meter per year and could completely dry up within the next 50 years if substantial water is not brought in.

-The water level has receded from 394 metres below sea level in 1960s to 420 meters below sea level today.

-The surface area has shrunk by at least 33 per cent over the last 56 years, roughly from 950 square kilometers to 637 square kilometers.

-The average annual inflow has decreased from 1,200 million cubic meters of water to around 250 million cubic meters as water from the Jordan river and other feeder streams are diverted for irrigation and industry.

-Dead Sea water is about ten times more saline than ocean water and that salinity increases as the water evaporates and the level decreases. Needless to say that the Dead Sea is called "dead" because there is practically no plants and fish due to the extreme salinity. That makes it a very fragile and unique in every sense.





Dead Sea Scrolls: They were found near Wadi Qumran in eleven caves between 1947 and 1956. Some of these priceless first century documents were sold on the local flea market for a few dollars! They consist of about 900 biblical texts written on parchment and papyrus by a Jewish sect in the northwest region of the Dead Sea. They were discovered by an Arab shepherd who accidentally fell into one of the caves.







The Dead Sea has only one significant tributary: the Jordan River / Sea of Galilee channel. In the mid 20th century, about 1.5 billion cubic meters used to find its way to the Dead Sea. Today that volume is down to only about 5-10%,because of dams, canals, irrigation and other human uses and abuses. Rainfall in that very arid region is only around 100mm/year that mostly evaporates and does not help refill the Dead Sea.

Tragically, there has been no coordinated system of water development and responsible management in the region. Israel and Jordan have historically pursued their own selfish water development projects independent of one another, competing for the same very scarce resources.







Salt and other minerals are free to take. Help yourself, but do not forget to bring a shovel to join the party!





Granted, there is no easy and cheap way to fix the problem and save the Dead Sea. Israeli and Jordanian commitment to a large scale projects such as either the "Mediterranean-Dead Sea'' or "Red Sea-Dead Sea" canals is becoming urgent to implement. The project to pump water from the Red Sea looks the more plausible than the Mediterranean option, but Jordan surely can not afford it alone.





Pumping sea water to the Dead Sea may be very costly but is relatively easy in engineering terms. The 400 m altitude difference between the Red Sea and the Dead Sea will be of great help. Sea water will have to be pumped, desalinized and sent to the Dead Sea, possibly with some hydro electrical stations built along the way. The project may be totally within the Jordanian borders, which complicates the funding and sharing of the cost burden with Israel, the Palestinian authority and the International community. 



On the other hand a project to use water from the Mediterranean may also be feasible but will involve very complicated sets of agreements and legal wranglings between the constantly feuding concerned parties.

















Dead Sea Marketing: Cosmetics, hotels, spas, mass tourism are flourishing. Fertilizer components are shipped around the globe by the tons. But at this rate there will not be much left soon to advertise those "magic" products as the water is evaporating fast. The Dead Sea is in fact moribund.







Environmental questions also remain as to how to regulate the Dead Sea water salt content and preserve its very unique constitution and habitat despite all the planned sea water inflow. There is the issue of a chemical incompatibility of the waters. Some studies even raise questions about the the impact of pumping water from the Red sea on the fragile coral reefs there (in the Gulf of Aqaba).

 

Depending on which solution is eventually adopted, the Palestinian Authority must also be consulted and made a partner in any mega project to save the Dead Sea. The concerted efforts of such very "friendly" bodies such as Israel, the Palestinian authorities and Jordan does not inspire much hope.



The issue is extremely urgent, the project is feasible, yet the multi billion dollar funds and the political will to implement anything is lacking. The international community does have a leadership role to play to make such a project work in that volatile area, but not much is done except consultations and promises.

This is a messy situation with no easy solution in sight. Too many cooks in the kitchen and the food is already burning.













Floating on the Dead Sea is easy. Even certified non- swimmers such as myself would float in a water with 34% salt content with such extreme buoyancy!





Visitors around the world have been coming to this natural wonder for thousands of years. The Dead Sea is unique both as a natural wonder and as a historical world monument. Endless communities have lived and found home and refuge around it since prehistorical times. John the Baptist baptized Jesus in the now almost dry Jordan river, and today he would have found pretty difficult to gather enough water for such an act.

The Dead Sea is moribund, there may not be left that much to see in a relatively short time. Therefore, I count myself among the lucky.









© Krikor Tersakian August 2009