By: Laura Elkayam

By: Laura Elkayam

lelkayam@kentlaw.edu

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Dead

Sea

(lowest

level)

Med.

Sea

Red

Sea

� There is nothing “cutting edge” about the

basic idea. It has been circulating for over 100 years.

� 1855: William Allen: “The Dead Sea: A New

Route to India” (sea level of dead sea

unknown, this was an alternative to the Suez

Canal).

� 1902: Theodor Herzel: “Altneuland”: envisioned digging a DS-MS canal (recognized elevation differences). The objective: to at once preserve the Dead Sea and use the flow of water to generate electricity. (His idea based on plan formulated by Max Bourcart in 1899).

� 1977 a group of Israeli experts identified 4 possible routes, deciding that Southern Med-Dead would be the best option.

� The idea was put on the backburner, but was

revived in the 1980s for the purpose of power generation after the 1973 oil crisis.

� The two emerging options: DSMS, or DSRS.

� 1985: United Nations General Assembly Resolution 39/101 (150-1)� “Confident that the canal linking the Mediterranean Sea with the Dead Sea, if constructed by Israel,

will cause direct, serious and irreparable damage to Jordan's rights and legitimate and vital interests in the economic, agricultural, demographic and ecological fields”

� “Deeply concerned at the digging activities in the Dead Sea area at the envisaged site of that end of the canal”

� “Emphasizes that the canal linking the Mediterranean Sea with the Dead Sea, if constructed, is a violation of the rules and principles of international law, especially those relating to the fundamental rights and duties of States and to belligerent occupation of land;”

� “Demands once again that Israel not construct this canal and cease forthwith all actions taken and/or digging plans made towards the execution of this project;”

� “Calls upon all States, specialized agencies and governmental and non-governmental organizations not to assist, directly or indirectly, in the preparation and execution of this project, and strongly urges national, international and multinational corporations to do likewise;”

� The resolution also called upon a team of experts to assist the Secretary-General in preparing a report to monitor the “adverse effects” of the canal project.

� Israel’s response: the resolution predetermined the outcome of the report, and no useful purpose will be served by an additional visit of the team of experts.

� Because of these political complications, I will speak in terms of a Dead Sea – Red Sea Route for the majority of the presentation.

Dead

Sea

(lowest

level)

Med.

Sea

Red

Sea

� In 2008, World Bank launched an 18-month

comprehensive study on the feasibility of the Red-Dead canal.

� This is currently progressing.

� Some disagreement as to what the primaryobjective is, but it is well settled that the canal could accomplish the following objectives (to be examined in turn)� Generate Hydroelectric Power

� Desalination of Dead Sea water (more drinking water)

� Raising the Dead Sea levels

� Promotion of Tourism

� Catalyst for change in the region

� The proposed canal would take advantage of the height difference between the Red Sea and Dead Sea (the lowest spot on earth, 1,306 feet below sea level).

� Water would drop approximately 1,870 feet. � The channel: ten meters in diameter, two

hundred meters wide and two hundred meters deep would run at the velocity of one meter per second to supply maximum tunnel flow.

� The Raccoon Mountain Pumped Storage

Plant of the Tennessee Valley Authority (“TVA Dam”) gives a good picture of what the

Dead Sea Power hydroplant will look like, so

far as turbine size and capacity.

� TVA Dam: 1.6 million kilowatts of capacity;

� Hydroelectricity would not likely be used to

power nearby towns/villages, but rather...� Tunnel could generate enough

hydroelectricity to power a large desalination

plant for producing fresh water (another

objective...)

� The Dead Sea is very salty.

Salt water is heavier

(denser) than

regular water.

People can float in

regular water, but

since salt water is

even denser, it is

even easier to float

in the Dead Sea.

� Reverse osmosis is the technique most in use today. The seawater, after pretreatment to remove solids, is put under very high pressure while flowing around a special type of filter called a semi-permeable membrane. The membrane has pores (holes) that allow water molecules, but not other dissolved contaminants, to be pushed through. The clean water can flow to a collection point while the salt remains on the original side of the membrane and is collected as waste, which is actually very concentrated salt water. The higher the pressure applied, the more clean water produced. The clean water is then treated further to turn it into drinking water.

� The hydrostatic pressure between the supply reservoir and the Dead Sea would be used to power this process.

� The estimated income from the desalination plants is 400 million per year. (Some estimates say it could reach as much as 800 million gross income per year)

� If enough fresh water became available, it could be exported to other areas of chronic shortage such as the West Bank or Jordanian cities.

� Because of the currently relatively high cost of water produced through desalination, the complex might become a showcase for the cutting edge of desalination techniques and efficient water use.

� If these techniques were investigated jointly between researchers from the region and abroad, the results could have application in arid regions around the world.

� Employment at all levels would also be provided for dangerously underemployed populations, such as Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank and immigrant Israelis from Ethiopia and the Soviet Union.

� New sources of water and power would provide opportunities for a range of ancillary projects, from inland power plants to artificial lake resorts to salt-water aquaculture. These projects could induce population inward away from the crowded coast and might eventually support entire towns.

� The simple mechanism for this is construction of a compacted earthen dike across a suitable location, with a large diameter plastic pipe extended through the dike into the Dead Sea water, extending several meters below the level at the time of construction of the project.

� The lagoon is filled with Dead Sea water by the pressure from the rising layer of Med Sea (or Red Sea) water. Once the design level of the Dead Sea is reached, evaporation from the lagoon will continually bring in more water from the deep layer of Dead Sea water.

* This is just as feasible for the DSRS, even though

the graphic shows the Med. Sea

• The Dead Sea has attracted visitors from around the Med.

Basin for thousands of years. Biblically, it was a place of refuge for King David. It was one of the world's first health

resorts (for Herod the Great), and it has been the supplier of

a wide variety of products, from balms for Egyptian mummification to potash for fertilizers. People also use the

salt and the minerals from the Dead Sea to create cosmetics and herbal sachets.

• In other words, it’s an awesome place, and we don’t want it to disappear.

� Boost Tourism� Catalyst for Change in the Region??

� Sometimes referred to as the “peace conduit”

� Some believe that if Palestinian employment increases (this project would require a tremendous amount of construction, and West Bank residents are good candidates), so too will the West Bank economy. The theory is that if Palestinian economy improves, they will have greater incentive to achieve peace.

� Groundwater contamination due to saltwater leakage from the canal system.

� Interruption of wildlife movement due to construction and maintenance of infrastructure.

� Lots of pressure from Israeli Green Groups to conduct thorough investigations into the possible negative environmental impacts.

� We are a long way off from knowing with any reasonable degree of certainty what these negative consequences will be. More research needed.

� Israeli study team estimates 1.5 – 5 Billion

Dollars (5.25 – 17.5 billion shekels) � ~ 10 years

� New York City Architect, Phu Hoang, has created an interesting design. ‘No Man’s Land’, a series of artificial islands, would provide recreation, tourist attractions, renewable energy, and create fresh water.

� A network of built islands with three distinct designs, ‘No Man’s Land’ would create an artificial archipelago that employs a variety of building technology. In order to become a source of fresh water, the islands will extract water molecules from the air to be desalinated. Salinity gradient solar ponds, water purification tanks, and water filtering processes will all be integrated into the designated “water islands” of the chain. The other two island designs will be for tourists and solar energy production, providing self sufficient power as well as creating revenue.

A more realistic proposal...

This is an image of a more realistic proposal for the

canal. Like many proposals, it envisions the canal as

a space for tourism and outdoor recreation.

� There are a couple other alternatives to the DS

canal project. Some suggest a Med-Kinneret

Aqueduct.

� Many proposals differ simply on the exact route of

the canal. Each attempts to minimize the amount of

uphill climbing the water will have to do in order to

reach its eventual destination of the Dead Sea.

� Jordan, perhaps looking for a cheaper alternative, is

considering building a desalination plant in Aqaba

and pumping the water through pipes to Amman.