Environmentalists: New Jordanian/Syrian Dam May Cause Jordan River To Dry Up

2006-11-18

Tzafrir Rinat, Haaretz Correspondent

www.haaretz.com/hasen/ spages/776388.html

An environmental group warns of a dramatic drop in the quantity and quality of the water in the southern section of the Jordan River, following the completion of a joint Jordanian-Syrian dam.

The river could dry up completely over the next summer, the group also warns.

The dam, expected to hold 110 million cubic meters of water, will reduce significantly the flow of the Yarmuk River into the Jordan's section between Lake Kinneret and the Dead Sea.

Ahead of the World Water Monitoring Day, held on Wednesday, Friends of the Earth - Middle East have called for the rehabilitation of the southern Jordan River by increasing the flow of its tributaries.

The region's shortage in water and the lack of cooperation between the countries along the Jordan, however, will probably leave the call unheeded.

According to Friends of the Earth, 92 percent of the Jordan's waters are already being used for human consumption. The new dam would reduce the water flow by a further 25 percent.

The group says that the river, sacred to millions around the world, has already become a polluted gutter that mainly channels sewage from Israeli and Jordanian communities.

Efrat Farber, a researcher at the Ben Gurion University Geology Department, says that despite the horrid state the river is in, the streaming of sewage should continue as long as the river does not regain a solid source of fresh water.

According to Farber, stopping sewage streaming would increase the river's salinity and would harm the ecosystem, as well as the farmers that use the river water for irrigation.

Source: IMRA – Independent Media Review and Analysis