One of the biggest motivations for initiating war... Control over natural resources:
jpost.com
Water: The crisis is here
By David Rudge
HAIFA (May 21) - After three consecutive winters of drought, the nation's fresh water reserves are insufficient to meet expected demand, the Water Management Committee declared yesterday.
The committee, comprised of experts from the Hydrological Service and Mekorot, is urging further cuts of 250 million cubic meters to avoid "a catastrophe." Its findings are to be submitted to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon by Water Commissioner Shimon Tal at a meeting on Wednesday.
Tal will recommend ways of achieving the necessary reductions in the urban, agricultural, and industrial sectors, while making it clear that there is no alternative.
These are expected to include total bans on watering lawns for the next three years and on the establishment of new municipal parks or gardens, and probably the introduction of water quotas for local authorities.
Furthermore, Tal is slated to call for at least a 10 percent cut in supplies of water to industry and for suitable compensation to be paid to farmers for not using all their quotas this year, which have already by cut by an average of 50%.
The findings of the committee - the body responsible for safeguarding the nation's water reserves and ensuring supplies of fresh water - follow recently concluded surveys of the state of existing resources. The three main sources of fresh water are the Coastal and Mountain aquifers and Lake Kinneret.
Dr. Shmuel Kessler, director-general of the Hydrological Service, which is part of the Water Commissioners' Office, said the amount of water that can be drawn from the Kinneret this year is only 87 million cu.m., compared to 420 million cu.m. in a normal year.
According to Kessler and the other experts, the level of the lake should not be allowed to drop under 214.30 meters below sea level, just one meter from where it now stands. He cited two reasons for this: potentially irreversible damage to the lake's ecosystem, and the quality of water and operational factors.
The latter relates to Mekorot's Sapir station, which draws water from the Kinneret and pumps it directly into the National Water Carrier. Simulations conducted by Mekorot have shown that the station's three pumps would not be able to operate at the same time if the level were to drop much beyond the committee's recommended cut-off point.
All three pumps have to operate during the summer to ensure a steady flow into the National Water Carrier.
Kessler's report made it clear that the Coastal and Mountain aquifers are similarly depleted and the respective water levels are on or below existing red lines.
In addition to meeting its own requirements, Israel also must supply 55 million cu.m. of fresh water a year to Jordan and 35 million cu.m. to the Palestinians, in accordance with international agreements.
Prior to yesterday's meeting, Mekorot director-general Amos Epstein said it was essential to make further cutbacks this year because there are no guarantees that the coming winter will be any better than previous ones.
Kessler said there was a discrepancy of 250 million cu.m. between what could be drawn relatively safely from the Kinneret and the underground reservoirs and estimated demand for domestic, agricultural, and industrial purposes.
The government has already approved a reduction of 50 million cu.m. this year, but the Water Management Committee insisted that this would not suffice. The alternative, according to the nation's experts, would be to lower levels in the Kinneret and the aquifers to such an extent that it would likely result in irreversible damage that would make them unusable for future generations
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What would Jordan or the Palestinians do should Israel cut off their water??
And an interesting twist on this is that Turkey also is threatening to dam off Syria's access to water.
Hawk |
