Without Intervention, Dead Sea Will Die Sea Becoming Saltier and Dirtier By the Day
By Noelle Hashim ‘07
News Guest Writer
The Dead Sea is dying. For the past thirty years, the water level of the world’s saltiest body of water has been steadily decreasing by one meter per year--reducing the size of this magnificent natural wonder to two thirds of its size fifty years ago. And if Jordan, Israel, and Syria don’t make rapid and drastic changes to their allocation of water, the sea will soon become a lifeless body of supersaturated saltwater.
Why is this natural treasure disappearing? The sea’s main supply of fresh water, the tributaries of the Jordan River, have been diverted from their natural course in order to supply water for drinking and crop irrigation. The Jordan River has instead become the dumping ground of over 700,000 gallons of raw sewage a day from drainage pipes. Experts claim that as much as half of the water delivered by the Jordan River into the Dead Sea is sewage; what is believed to have been the site of Jesus’ baptism is now a conduit of waste.
I understand that population pressures necessitate increased water consumption. But apart from fulfilling human needs, the Jordan’s waters are also being used to support the exotic plants and decorative fauna—fauna that is not adapted to the arid region—planted by exclusive resorts and spas along the Dead Sea Coast. For example, a Kibbutz called Ein Gedi has been wasting the water from four freshwater springs in order maintain a botanical garden having over 800 species of tropical plants. This is ridiculous. If water is scarce, it should not be wasted on plants that are only serve an aesthetic purpose and that would otherwise not be growing in the desert.
The Dead Sea is the saltiest large body of water in the world and at 1371 feet below sea level, it is the lowest point on earth. It has long been admired as a natural monument and its nutrient-rich waters are believed to bring good health. A major decline in water level and the increased pollution of the Dead Sea could be disastrous to the tourism it brings to the surrounding area.
The deliberate evaporation of the Dead Sea’s waters doesn’t help, either. Companies like the Dead Sea Works have set up evaporation ponds along the Dead Sea to isolate potash, a component of fertilizers, from the water. The pools not only contribute to decreasing water levels (some environmentalists have suggested that they are responsible for thirty percent of the annual drop in water level) but also increase the saltiness of the remaining water. These large businesses may be reaping money from the natural resources, but the environment is paying a toll. As water becomes less available, the plant and wildlife reserves along the Dead Sea are going to disappear. The hundreds of thousands of birds that migrate between Europe and Africa and that often stop at the Dead Sea will have no water or wildlife to feed on.
Receding waters have also created huge sinkholes that ruin roads and disrupt infrastructure.
One proposed plan is to feed the Dead Sea with water from the Red Sea. The program, however, will cost billions of dollars and will only be filling the Dead Sea with salt water instead of the freshwater necessary for its revival. Some people say that the combination of the waters could create deadly gases. The future looks grim.
What can we do? The Dead Sea is declining simply because its neighbors are over-exhausting its resources. Residents’ ignore that an overconsumption of water disrupts the fragile equilibrium of the environment. Fertilizers should use nutrients and minerals other than potash, and private organizations should use water only for the necessaries. There ought to be strict monitoring of the dumping of sewage into the Jordan River, and Israel, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon ought to evaluate the water needs of various groups and companies within their countries and then set “water allowances” accordingly. Increased media attention to the cause and public education about water conservation could also help, at least partially, slow down the damage. If everyone becomes a little more aware of the situation and a little more active in its prevention, the Dead Sea may not die after all.
