A River Ran Through it. Once one of the great waterways of the ancient world, the Jordan River has been drained due to overuse, drought and pollution causing further depletion of its flow into the Dead Sea. For decades, water has been a source of conflict in Holy Land. Jordan faces a deepening water crisis, worsened by climate change, regional conflict and immigration. Demand for water greatly outstrips available renewable and non-renewable supply sources, and the margin is worsening. Will the efforts made to lay the foundations for a water-secure future be enough to maintain the fragile peace? By BEN MILPAS
September 28, 2017
A River Ran Through It The Lower Jordan River Valley is a unique ecosystem stretching along both banks of the world’s lowest river, one of the oldest routes of human migration, with natural and cultural sites valued all over the world. Over the years, this unique river valley is threatened by excessive water diversion, pollution and inappropriate development causing the Jordan River to lose more than 90 percent of its normal flow. Upstream, at the Sea of Galilea, the water is diverted via Israel’s National Water Carrier, while dams built by Jordan and Syria claim a share of the river mostly for agriculture and domestic consumption. The fight over the Jordan River is just another example for potential conflict over water that exists throughout our world. Rivalry in India and Pakistan over the Indus; Ethiopia and Egypt over the Nile; Turkey and Syria over the Euphrates are just a few similar cases of a long list. Today Jordan faces a deepening water crisis, worsened by climate change, regional conflict and immigration. It has one of the lowest levels of water availability per capita in the world. A situation now made more acute by the influx of hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees fleeing from their country’s long and ongoing civil war. Jordan is consuming more water than is available from renewable sources, making potable water a priority. If current trends remain the same, Jordan will be in absolute water shortage by 2025, if not sooner. Even though the access to new bulk water resources is a priority, the country lacks to develop these resources on its own. Innovative, and at times controversial, projects are necessary to secure sufficient water supply in the future. This ongoing long-term project aims to show and highlight the importance of cross boundary efforts to protect and share water resources used by different countries, often the sole lifeline for millions of people. All equally depending on it, all bound to consider each other need’s.
LEBANON 1 MEDITERRANEAN SEA
JORDAN RIVER
2
SEA OF GALILEE
IRAQ
SYRIA
3
YARMOUK RIVER
4
NORTH SHUNEH
AL - WEDHA DAM 5 KING ABDULLAH CANAL
AMMAN
6
WEST BANK
ZARQA RIVER KING TALAL DAM 7
SOUTH SHUNEH
DEAD SEA GAZA
ISRAEL
JORDAN
EGYPT 8
SAUDI ARABIA AQABA
RED SEA
DISI WATER AQUIFER
9
1 SOURCE Originating around Mount Hermon in Lebanon, three rivers converge in Israel to form the Jordan River. Israël considers any upstream diversion by Syria or Lebanon as a hostile act. 2 HULA VALLEY An agricultural region in northern Israel with abundant fresh water. In the 1950’s, Israel drained swamps bordering the Syrian Golan Heights. Regular fighting continued until 1967, when Israel captured the Golan. 3 SEA OF GALILIEE A freshwater lake with the Jordan River as its main source. The Israel’s National Water Carrier, completed in 1964, was built despite fierce Arab opposition in order to supply growing water demands in all major parts of the country. 4 YARMOUK RIVER The largest tributary of the Jordan River is used by Syria, Jordan and Israel. Political agreements between these riparian countries outline the management and allocation of the shared waters of the Yarmouk. 5 AL-WEDHA DAM or UNITY DAM Constructed on the Yarmouk River on the border between Syria and Jordan. Water from the reservoir is diverted to the King Abdullah Canal and part of it is pumped to Amman to be used as drinking water, after being treated in the Zai water treatment plant. 6 LOWER JORDAN RIVER Considered as an international border and used as a waste canal, the lower Jordan River is flanked by highly secured military zones and minefields. Severe pollution makes any use impossible. 7 KING TALAL DAM A large dam in the hills of northern Jordan, across the Zarqa River. The main purpose is to store winter rains and treated wastewater from Amman and Zarqa used for irrigation in the Jordan Valley. 8 RED SEA - DEAD SEA CANAL Controversial project to ensure sufficient water resources for Jordan in the future by desalinating water from the Red Sea and by ‘connecting’ both sea’s. 9 DISI WATER AQUIFER An underground water source part of the Disi Water Conveyance Pipeline, a major water supply project in Jordan.
In one of the most arid environments in the world, a soldier from the Jordanian Border Patrol is carrying his daily ration of drinking water to his outpost located next to the Jordan River flowing into the Dead Sea. Used as an International Border, the area is considered highly sensitive and the ground is scattered with mines on both banks of the river. Due to these Israeli and Jordanian military restrictions, the Lower Jordan River is off-limits for all visitors.
People from different cultures and backgrounds travel to this part of the world to wade in the Holy River. A group of pilgrims is being baptized by a priest in Israel seen from the Jordanian side. It’s the only place on the Jordanian bank of the river where visitors are allowed. Today, despite its environmental and cultural importance, the ancient biblical waterway has been reduced to a murky body of water in danger of disappearing.
A railway bridge over the Yarmouk River destroyed during the war in 1946 is the remaining evidence of a past where both sides were still able to connect. Over the years, the valley turned Cus The es sequatquam et the landigent idus eni di int et lantotae in a highly secured military zone. lower part of river forms partodis of the border between andist arcipiet ratur? In nonet autatenet parum quam et re, untius, Israel and Jordan. Further upstream its part of the border between Syria and Jordan. Although queJordan id quae. Ut ommodiam sin pliquatet aut et originating outside its borders, relies heavily on abor the Yarmouk riveromnim system.vendes Unequal aut ea dolo quatio. Officiet maiorro ipicius tibeaquiatis distribution amongst riparian’s oraboribuscia over- extraction through upstream damming and diversions makes the flow of the river unpredictable and is diminishing.
‘I remember once in the 1990s, the Jordan River flooded my farm entirely, water came up as high as my citrus trees. In recent years, we spent nearly 200.000 JD’s of my own money to reinforce the river banks to prevent flooding as the water became heavily polluted, it would destroy my crops.’ Omar Halabi on his farm on the banks of the Jordan River in North Shuneh. Dams and diversions upstream have significantly diminished floodwaters reducing the river’s biodiversity. Acces to this area is strictly monitored by the Border Patrol and is not open for visitors.
Amman’s water distribution has long been troubled by problems and many residents receive supply on just one day a week. In the past, over 50% of the water entering the city’s distribution system was effectively unaccounted for, with half of this being lost due to leakage or poor management. A series of initiatives designed to address these problems, have reduced leakage to roughly a third. In addition, education campaigns have been set up to boost a greater consumer awareness of the country’s pressing water concerns.
Zai water treatment plant provides yearly over 90 million cubic metres of drinking water for the greater Amman area ‘
A steep increase of the population and an ever-growing, uncontrolled urban expansion of Amman city, Jordan. To ensure their water supply most households install water storage tanks on their roofs.
Beyond the dams and its reservoirs, the lack of water turns the terrain in an arid patch of land. Once, a river ran through this desert landscape where growth and development of life was possible. Dried up river bedding near Al Karamah Dam, Shuneh, Jordan.
The water stored in the reservoir of the Wadi Al Arab dam is mainly used for agriculture purposes. The scarcity of this precious element is widely seen as the single most important restriction on the country’s sustainable growth. All life relies on it, without it we would not exist.
Environmental challenges continue to dry up water sources, reduce annual rains and increases period of droughts. Bedouins are forced to purchase water to ensure the survival of their herds. North Shuneh, Jordan.
King Talal Dam, North Jordan. The construction of the dam began in 1971 and was completed in 1978 at a height of 92,5 meters. To meet the countries increased water demands, the dam was raised to a height of 106 meter in 1984. Due to shorter rainy seasons, and longer droughts the amount water stored in the reservoir at the beginning of the summer months is at its lowest level since years. The main purpose is to store winter rains and the treated wastewater from Amman and Zarqa used for irrigation in the Jordan Valley, irrigating about 17,000 hectares and supporting the livelihood of thousands of people.
‘I wish after the winter rains in the north, they open up the dams so the fresh water can run freely through our lands. But our governments don’t care about us’. In the old days, people could travel via the ancient Jeser Al Sheikh Hussein Road in North Shuneh from Bagdad and Damascus to Palestine and further to the Mediterranean. Today, borders are closed and the road ends at the farm of Doctor Ibrahim Alayyan. The water’s high salinity level of the Jordan River is killing the citrus trees on his farm.
The King Abdullah Canal is an artificial water conveyor serving as water source for the Greater Amman area. It runs parallel with the east bank of the Jordan River. The main water source is the Yarmouk River and the Al-Mukhaibeh wells within the Yarmouk valley. Further south, additional water flows from Wadi Al-Arab dam and from the Zarqa River. With its reservoir behind the King Talal Dam. Water flows by gravity along the entire length of 120km. The Canal supplies water for irrigation in the Jordan Valley and over 90 million cubic meters/year of drinking water for the Greater Amman area. Improvised pumping stations are installed along the entire lenght of the Canal to access the water. At the very end of the King Abdullah Canal pipelines are being put in the water to extend the water flow as much south as possible to irrigate farming land.
The construction of the King Abdullah Canal in the late 1960s to irrigate the Jordan Valley has led to an agricultural industry that supplies most of Jordan’s vegetables and fruits. Plastic greenhouses and farm machinery characterize the area today. Shortage of water and excessive heat with summer temperatures often topping 45 °C are making the window to grow crops very limited. This period is further being reduced due to climate change and the lack of sufficient irrigation water.
The King Abdullah Canal doesn’t reach south of the Dead Sea leaving the farmers depend on the water coming from the Wadi’s originating in the Highlands along the Jordan Rift Valley. In Ghawr Al Haditha the water flows first through an entrapment area for filtration before being distributed to the farmers for irrigation. The quantity they receive is determined by the amount of land they own and cultivate.
The main objective of the Disi Water Conveyance (DWC) Project is to ensure the water supply in Jordan by conveying water over approximately 325 km to Amman. The water is coming from the underground fossil Aquifer in Diseh and conveys up to 100,000,000 cubic metres of water per year. It lies on the border beneath the desert in southern Jordan and north-western Saudi Arabia. The DWC project is only a mid-term solution with a limited life span as the ground water is non-renewable. When it’s gone, the real crisis begins. Leaving the desalination of the Red Sea water under the controversial ‘Red-Dead ‘project the only long-term solution to water scarcity. Underneath these rock formations lies the Disi Aquifer in South Jordan on the border with Saudi Arabia. Here an underground well has been exploited.