Shrinking Dead Sea Unites Foes

GHOR HADITHA, Jordan – Jordan, Israel and the Palestini-ans are slowly pushing through the tangle of their disputes and suspicions in a race to save a biblical and ecological treasure, the Dead Sea.

The famously salty sea, which lies at Earth’s lowest point, is shrinking. It has receded by three feet a year for the past 25 years, and Jordan and Israel warn that if the trend continues, it will vanish by 2050 along with its unique ecosystem, defeated by river diversions, mineral extraction and natural reasons, including evaporation.

A crucial project to boost the water level by piping in water from the Red Sea has long been held up by disputes between Israel and its Palestinian and Jordanian neighbors.

“But the ball began to roll a few months ago because of the gravity of the situation and the dangers facing the Dead Sea, which is a unique heritage not only to the countries that border it but to the whole world,” said Mohammed Thafer al-Alem, Jordan’s water minister.

The urgency is made clear by a dramatic side effect of the dwindling water: sinkholes. These yawn open in a flash, leaving pits 100 feet deep or more in the spongelike terrain. They happen because underground aquifers shrink and salt left by the receding Dead Sea waters erodes the earth.

The lake has become a tourist attraction for both Jordan and Israel because of its curative waters and black mud. Five-star hotels are sprouting on its shores, creating pollution problems that pose a further threat.

The Dead Sea lies nearly 1,400 feet below sea level. It is 42 miles long, as much as 11 miles wide and more than 1,000 feet deep.

With salinity of about 30 percent, more than eight times that of oceans, it is considered the world’s saltiest body of water. It is bounded by Jordan in the east and Israel and the West Bank in the west.

The Jordan River, which flows into the Dead Sea, is part of a river network whose overuse and diversions by Jordan, Israel and Syria compound the shrinkage.

A feasibility study on the pipeline project finally began this year, with 60 percent of its $15.5 million cost provided by the U.S. and other Western donors.

(c) 2007 Augusta Chronicle, The. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.