205
© The Author(s) 2016
R.F. Hüttl et al. (eds.), Society - Water - Technology, Water Resources
Development and Management, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-18971-0_14
Chapter 14
Reclaiming the Dead Sea: Alternatives
for Action
Abdallah I. Husein Malkawi and Yacov Tsur
Abstract The sustainable supply of natural water available in the water basin feeding
the Dead Sea (comprising of Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority) will soon
drop below 100 cubic metres (m
3
) per person per year. This has resulted from upstream
diversions that over time have deprived the Dead Sea of more than 90 % of its historical infl ow and led to a progressive decline of its water level with detrimental effects
on the surrounding environment and infrastructure. We examine four alternatives to
stabilise or restore the Dead Sea and evaluate the costs associated with each alternative. We also offer a mechanism to pay for the reclamation alternatives based on a
surcharge levied on all upstream diversions (including water consumed by the potash
industries). The surcharge rates associated with the four alternatives range between
zero and USD 0.10 per m
3
.
Keywords Dead Sea reclamation • Water scarcity • Environmental amenities •
Recycling • Desalination • Study of alternatives • World Bank • Jordan River •
Yarmuk River • RSDS conveyance project
14.1 Introduction
Upstream diversions have diminished water fl ow into the Dead Sea by over
1,500 × 10
6 m
3 /year during the last 50 years. The most signifi cant diversions have
been from the upper Jordan River (mostly by Israel) and the Yarmuk River
(mostly by Syria), while the remaining diversions are mostly from side wadis in
the Dead Sea eastern escarpment (Salameh and El-Naser 2000 ; TAHAL and GSI
2011 ). The Dead Sea water balance is further exacerbated by the additional
A. I. H. Malkawi (*)
Jordan University of Science and Technology , P.O. Box 3030 , Irbid 22110 , Jordan
e-mail: mhusein@just.edu.jo
Y. Tsur
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem , P.O. Box 12 , Rehovot 76100 , Israel
e-mail: tsur@agri.huji.ac.il
© The Author(s) 2016
R.F. Hüttl et al. (eds.), Society - Water - Technology, Water Resources
Development and Management, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-18971-0_14
Chapter 14
Reclaiming the Dead Sea: Alternatives
for Action
Abdallah I. Husein Malkawi and Yacov Tsur
Abstract The sustainable supply of natural water available in the water basin feeding
the Dead Sea (comprising of Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority) will soon
drop below 100 cubic metres (m
3
) per person per year. This has resulted from upstream
diversions that over time have deprived the Dead Sea of more than 90 % of its historical infl ow and led to a progressive decline of its water level with detrimental effects
on the surrounding environment and infrastructure. We examine four alternatives to
stabilise or restore the Dead Sea and evaluate the costs associated with each alternative. We also offer a mechanism to pay for the reclamation alternatives based on a
surcharge levied on all upstream diversions (including water consumed by the potash
industries). The surcharge rates associated with the four alternatives range between
zero and USD 0.10 per m
3
.
Keywords Dead Sea reclamation • Water scarcity • Environmental amenities •
Recycling • Desalination • Study of alternatives • World Bank • Jordan River •
Yarmuk River • RSDS conveyance project
14.1 Introduction
Upstream diversions have diminished water fl ow into the Dead Sea by over
1,500 × 10
6 m
3 /year during the last 50 years. The most signifi cant diversions have
been from the upper Jordan River (mostly by Israel) and the Yarmuk River
(mostly by Syria), while the remaining diversions are mostly from side wadis in
the Dead Sea eastern escarpment (Salameh and El-Naser 2000 ; TAHAL and GSI
2011 ). The Dead Sea water balance is further exacerbated by the additional
A. I. H. Malkawi (*)
Jordan University of Science and Technology , P.O. Box 3030 , Irbid 22110 , Jordan
e-mail: mhusein@just.edu.jo
Y. Tsur
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem , P.O. Box 12 , Rehovot 76100 , Israel
e-mail: tsur@agri.huji.ac.il