In an effort to stop the Dead Sea from disappearing, the World Bank has declared the $10 Billion Red Sea-Dead Sea Water Conveyance project “feasible.” Currently the Dead Sea is disappearing at an alarming rate of 5 square kilometers per year.
If the project is successful it will reverse this devastation and bring fresh water as well as “affordable electricity” to Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Authority. This would be accomplished by building a pipeline from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea, bringing two billion cubic meters of salt water from the Red Sea. The water would be desalinated and the remaining salty brine would be pumped into the Dead Sea to reverse its decline.
Some ecological groups say that the plan could damage the Red Sea in the process, but the World Bank believes it can manage any negative effects. Another issue is potential groundwater contamination due to seismic activity. The World Bank suggests “special arrangements” be made to build seismically safe pipelines.
Source:
Pierre Klochendler, “More Dead Than Red,” Inter Press Service, February 25, 2013. http://www.ipsnews.net/2013/02/more-dead-than-red
Student Researcher: Giancarlo De Stefano Rossignol, College of Marin
Faculty Evaluator: Susan Rahman, College of Marin