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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| World Bank approves Dead Sea canal plan: Israel |
| 2009-06-28 |
| JERUSALEM - The World Bank has approved a pilot plan for a canal linking the Red Sea to the rapidly shrinking Dead Sea, Israeli Development Minister Sylvan Shalom announced on Saturday. Israeli public radio said the bank will provide 1.25 billion dollars in finance for the project. The initial proposal is for a 180 kilometre (110 miles) channel to transport 200 cubic metres of water, of which half would gush into the Dead Sea and half would feed a giant desalination plant jointly run by Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority, Shalom’s ministry said. The next stage would see the construction of a canal to supply two billion cubic meters of water a year to maintain and increase water levels in the Dead Sea, which is on course to dry out completely by 2050 if nothing is done. Shalom, who met World Bank president Robert Zoellick in Washington on Friday, said approval from the global institution was a “spectacular” development aimed at relaunching the project. The idea of a link between the Red Sea and the Dead Sea, the lowest point on the planet, was first mooted several years ago and in December 2006 representatives from Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Authority ordered a feasibility study. Progressed has been slow because of the stalling of the Middle East peace process. The level of the Dead Sea, a natural site of prime historic and economic importance, has been falling by a metre (three feet) every year, creating major environmental problems. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #11 "The Dead Sea contains high concentrations of lithium - useful for making lithium batteries for consumer electronics and electric vehicles." Also used to treat a mental illness, IIRC (which one escapes me at the moment). Wonder if they can get the Gaza clowns to drink Dead Sea water? It couldn't possibly make them any crazier, and it might help.... |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2009-06-28 20:27 |
| #10 Any realistic chance they can moat off Gaza while they're at it? |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2009-06-28 19:57 |
| #9 APaul, canal connecting the Med to the Dead Actually, Red to Dead. Longer canal but almost no topography to climb. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2009-06-28 16:51 |
| #8 The Dead Sea contains high concentrations of lithium - useful for making lithium batteries for consumer electronics and electric vehicles. |
| Posted by: DMFD 2009-06-28 16:16 |
| #7 This is a good project. You get hydropower to run R.O. desalination plants, plus extra power for a grid. The Dead Sea level is maintained. Israel and Jordan benefit. A colleague and I did some quick calcs 6 months ago, based upon known water area and annual evaporation of the Dead Sea. The flow rate will be determined by the replacement rate for evaporated water of the dead sea and the canal connecting the Med to the Dead, the R.O. treatment rate, and any more that you want to add to raise the level of the sea. The reject brine from the R.O. process can be dumped safely in the lake, so there is no waste. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2009-06-28 13:47 |
| #6 Flow is usually metered in volume per second. 200m3/sec = a small river. The Colorado river = 600m3/sec. |
| Posted by: ed 2009-06-28 12:38 |
| #5 200 cubic meters? Is there a delta missing from that expression, or a couple digits? Because you could *truck* 200 cubic meters inland instead of putting all that work into a canal. If there *is* a delta missing, what is it - per day, per hour? |
| Posted by: Mitch H. 2009-06-28 12:28 |
| #4 Cool. Thanks. |
| Posted by: ed 2009-06-28 11:00 |
| #3 Any plans to pump out some of the Dead Sea water or evaporate the salt for commercial use |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2009-06-28 10:53 |
| #2 Any plans to pump out some of the Dead Sea water or evaporate the salt for commercial use? It would be energy intensive but the canal adds even more salt. |
| Posted by: ed 2009-06-28 10:12 |
| #1 It's downhill to the Dead Sea, so presumably one could build a power plant in the system to capture that potential energy. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2009-06-28 09:24 |