Water Wisdom: Preparing the Groundwork for Cooperative and Sustainable Water Management in the Middle East

Managing the Jordan River Basin: A Palestinian Perspective

Dreizin, Y., A. Tenne, and D. Hoffman. 2008. Integrating large scale seawater desalination plants within Israel’s water supply system. Desalination 220:132–149. Pankratz, T. 2005. Global trends in public-private partnerships. Talk given at the Israeli Desalination Society Meetings, Tel Aviv. Qiblawey, H. M., and F. Banat. 2008. Solar thermal desalination technologies. Desalination 220:633–644. Safrai, I., and A. Zask. 2008. Reverse osmosis desalination plants—marine environmentalist regulator point of view. Desalination 220:72–84. Tal, A. 2006. Seeking sustainability: Israel’s evolving water management strategy. Science 313:1081–1084. Yermiyahu, U., et al. 2007. Rethinking desalinated water quality and agriculture. Science 318:920–921. Desalination in Israel 245 246 O Editors’ Summary Desalination has produced considerable optimism among water managers. Indeed, it removes some of the constraints in what was perceived as a “zero sum game” and offers negotiators much needed flexibility. Ultimately, desalination represents the possibility of forestalling the enormous shortages that have been projected for so long. Desalination serves to diffuse the explosive rhetoric put forward by the “hydro-hysterics” whose grim visions of a thirsty future do little to allow for rational discussion. Surely, the agricultural sector, which for some time has assumed that its freshwater supplies would only dwindle as domestic and industrial water demand grows, has reason for relief. The private sector has proven to be a robust force in promoting this technology, even in the Gaza Strip, where the plants have been funded through private ventures. At the same time, even though the price for desalinated water has plummeted, for some time most farm operations will continue to see the cost as prohibitive. Palestinians in particular balk at the price of moving to desalination as the chief source of domestic water supply—even as a growing number pay far higher rates for bottled water whose quality is frequently inferior to the desalinated alternative. Several concerns need to be addressed before desalination becomes a regional panacea for anticipated shortages. The first is technical. Palestinians are quick to point out that, unlike olive trees, desalination plants do not last forever. Like any factory, they require maintenance. For instance, if you stop running a desalination facility for a few days, the membranes in the plant can sustain irreversible damage. In Gaza, for example, fuel supply is unstable and the threat of violence can compromise water production (even as Israel has meticulously attempted to avoid water supply facilities in military actions). During the Intifada, chemicals became unavailable for key aspects of plant operation (e.g., chemical anti-scalants) and desalination facilities collapsed. In the past, Israelis were surprised when Palestinian enthusiasm to receive water from desalination plants was not exceptional. In Gaza desalination is considered inevitable and a driver of hydro-independence. But proposals to pipe water directly to the West Bank from Israeli Mediterranean coastal plants still are perceived as inferior to the granting of control over groundwater resources over which Palestinian control was incontrovertible. Environmental concerns are also raised and must be addressed. The copious quantities of electricity associated with the energy-intensive operation of desalination facilities translate into substantial greenhouse gases. For instance, the energy demands of the Ashkelon facility are comparable to those of a city with 45,000 residents. Ultimately, desalination will play a critical role in relieving the pervasive water scarcity of the two sides. Yet, the water is costly and brings with it environmental costs. It is therefore important that the commitment to water efficiency and conservation in both entities is in no way attenuated as a result of present capabilities for producing freshwater far less expensively than in the past. Editors’ Summary 247 249 PART 11 THE JORDAN RIVER BASIN The Jordan River Basin includes the tributaries to the Jordan River and Lake Kinneret (the Sea of Galilee). Even as the recent drop in rainfall in the watershed decreased dramatically, it remains the largest single freshwater resource in the area. Its administration and protection is central to long-term sustainable water management strategies for the parties in the area. Indeed, the steady decline in sea level in the Dead Sea is the direct result of present and past policies regarding the Jordan’s waters in Israel, Jordan, and Syria. The Jordan River has been the subject of international negotiations and discussions since the 1950s, when U.S. president Dwight David Eisenhower...