Introducing Sustainability Issues to the Water Management
251
pollution prevention (e.g., appropriate wastewater collection and treatment
systems, controlled dump sites, enforcement of restrictions on fertilizer use) has
received and is receiving only low priority, so that groundwater quality will
possibly deteriorate. In Israel, the trend of increasing nitrate pollution of
groundwater is already considered a major environmental risk though not an
immediate health threat. Further overexploitation of groundwater resources might
lead to up coning of brine groundwater from deeper formations, which in tum
results in pollution (by mixing) of otherwise freshwater aquifers. Other ways of
worsening environmental conditions include soil erosion and domestic or
industrial wastewater that drains from the uplands into rivers or reservoirs.
• Economic. Water management actions are to be designed so that the economic
return of the water use is higher than the total cost of supplying it and that this
profit can be sustained. An economic approach, i.e., focusing on water as an
economic product, provides a basis within which every component needs to be
quantified. Social and environmental sustainability aspects have to be converted
into monetary units, e.g., what is the value of the Dead Sea (or EMA) level not
falling beyond a certain elevation or a minimum discharge being maintained in the
rivers to enable certain habitat conditions, which might cause new disputes? Water
rights on springs and wells may need to be transferred to a central organization in
order to restrict water usage in certain periods or to use water pricing as a steering
instrument.
According to recent estimates (Beaumont 2000), the economic benefits of I m 3
water are on the order of I to 2 US$ for agricultural use, 500 US$ for commercial
use, and 600 US$ for industrial use. Thus, in areas with water shortages, it is
useful to minimize water use in agriculture, and maximize water use in commerce
and industry. The salient questions are if water pricing is sufficient to steer the use
of water and what water price is affordable to the customer. In a purely economic
context, the consumer has to pay the full cost of water without subsidies.
However, calculations reveal that there will be problems in reality: the main
Palestinian demand for municipal supplies will be in the heavily populated urban
areas on the mountain ridge. Pumping drinking water up from the Jordan Valley
about 1000 m in elevation to these cities would cost about 0.60 to 0.70 US$m- 3 •
While desalination of brackish water from springs and the Jordan River is
technically feasible its estimated cost is between 0.35 and 0.45 US$m- 3 , resulting
in a total delivered water cost of more than I US$, which will not make it
economically feasible for use in agriculture.
4 Realistic Options for Future Water Management
It becomes clear that the various sustainability aspects may only be resolved in an
integrated manner, i.e., economic criteria cannot be applied without considering
social aspects. Including environmental viewpoints is mandatory for any longterm strategy.
251
pollution prevention (e.g., appropriate wastewater collection and treatment
systems, controlled dump sites, enforcement of restrictions on fertilizer use) has
received and is receiving only low priority, so that groundwater quality will
possibly deteriorate. In Israel, the trend of increasing nitrate pollution of
groundwater is already considered a major environmental risk though not an
immediate health threat. Further overexploitation of groundwater resources might
lead to up coning of brine groundwater from deeper formations, which in tum
results in pollution (by mixing) of otherwise freshwater aquifers. Other ways of
worsening environmental conditions include soil erosion and domestic or
industrial wastewater that drains from the uplands into rivers or reservoirs.
• Economic. Water management actions are to be designed so that the economic
return of the water use is higher than the total cost of supplying it and that this
profit can be sustained. An economic approach, i.e., focusing on water as an
economic product, provides a basis within which every component needs to be
quantified. Social and environmental sustainability aspects have to be converted
into monetary units, e.g., what is the value of the Dead Sea (or EMA) level not
falling beyond a certain elevation or a minimum discharge being maintained in the
rivers to enable certain habitat conditions, which might cause new disputes? Water
rights on springs and wells may need to be transferred to a central organization in
order to restrict water usage in certain periods or to use water pricing as a steering
instrument.
According to recent estimates (Beaumont 2000), the economic benefits of I m 3
water are on the order of I to 2 US$ for agricultural use, 500 US$ for commercial
use, and 600 US$ for industrial use. Thus, in areas with water shortages, it is
useful to minimize water use in agriculture, and maximize water use in commerce
and industry. The salient questions are if water pricing is sufficient to steer the use
of water and what water price is affordable to the customer. In a purely economic
context, the consumer has to pay the full cost of water without subsidies.
However, calculations reveal that there will be problems in reality: the main
Palestinian demand for municipal supplies will be in the heavily populated urban
areas on the mountain ridge. Pumping drinking water up from the Jordan Valley
about 1000 m in elevation to these cities would cost about 0.60 to 0.70 US$m- 3 •
While desalination of brackish water from springs and the Jordan River is
technically feasible its estimated cost is between 0.35 and 0.45 US$m- 3 , resulting
in a total delivered water cost of more than I US$, which will not make it
economically feasible for use in agriculture.
4 Realistic Options for Future Water Management
It becomes clear that the various sustainability aspects may only be resolved in an
integrated manner, i.e., economic criteria cannot be applied without considering
social aspects. Including environmental viewpoints is mandatory for any longterm strategy.