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The Red Sea–Dead Sea Conveyance (RSDSC), sometimes called the Two Seas Canal, was a planned pipeline to run from the coastal city of
Aqaba Aqaba ( , ; , ) is the only coastal city in Jordan and the largest and most populous city on the Gulf of Aqaba. Situated in southernmost Jordan, Aqaba is the administrative center of the Aqaba Governorate. The city had a population of 148, ...
by the
Red Sea The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...
to the Lisan area in the
Dead Sea The Dead Sea (; or ; ), also known by #Names, other names, is a landlocked salt lake bordered by Jordan to the east, the Israeli-occupied West Bank to the west and Israel to the southwest. It lies in the endorheic basin of the Jordan Rift Valle ...
. Its abandonment was reported in June 2021. It was to provide potable water to
Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...
,
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
and the
Palestinian territories The occupied Palestinian territories, also referred to as the Palestinian territories, consist of the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip—two regions of the former Mandate for Palestine, British Mandate for Palestine ...
, bringing water with a high concentration of salts resulting from the
desalination Desalination is a process that removes mineral components from saline water. More generally, desalination is the removal of salts and minerals from a substance. One example is Soil salinity control, soil desalination. This is important for agric ...
process (reject brine) to stabilise the Dead Sea water level, and generate electricity to support the energy needs of the project. The project was planned to be carried out by Jordan and is entirely in Jordanian territory. It was to be financed by the governments of Jordan, Israel, and a number of international donors. The project had a tentative $10 billion price tag, with the first phase—slated to begin construction in 2021—costing $1.1 billion. The water level in the Dead Sea is shrinking at a rate of more than one metre per year, and its surface area has shrunk by about 33% since the 1960s. This is largely due to the diversion of most of the flow into the Dead Sea from the
Jordan River The Jordan River or River Jordan (, ''Nahr al-ʾUrdunn''; , ''Nəhar hayYardēn''), also known as ''Nahr Al-Sharieat'' (), is a endorheic river in the Levant that flows roughly north to south through the Sea of Galilee and drains to the Dead ...
, much of which originates in the
Sea of Galilee The Sea of Galilee (, Judeo-Aramaic languages, Judeo-Aramaic: יַמּא דטבריא, גִּנֵּיסַר, ), also called Lake Tiberias, Genezareth Lake or Kinneret, is a freshwater lake in Israel. It is the lowest freshwater lake on Earth ...
. The completion of the National Water Carrier scheme in 1964 diverted water for Israel, Jordan and
Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
to use for irrigation and drinking water. The decline of the Dead Sea level is causing major local environmental problems, including
sinkhole A sinkhole is a depression or hole in the ground caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer. The term is sometimes used to refer to doline, enclosed depressions that are also known as shakeholes, and to openings where surface water ...
s and receding shorelines. Other routes for a conduit for the same objectives as the RSDSC, including the Mediterranean–Dead Sea Canal, were proposed in Israel in the 1980s, but were discarded.


History

The connection of the seas by canal was first suggested in the mid-19th century by British officers who were looking for ways to circumvent the French-built
Suez Canal The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...
and had not realized that the level of the Dead Sea is much lower. Later on, at the end of the 19th century, planners thought of ways to use water from the
Jordan River The Jordan River or River Jordan (, ''Nahr al-ʾUrdunn''; , ''Nəhar hayYardēn''), also known as ''Nahr Al-Sharieat'' (), is a endorheic river in the Levant that flows roughly north to south through the Sea of Galilee and drains to the Dead ...
, which originates in the
Sea of Galilee The Sea of Galilee (, Judeo-Aramaic languages, Judeo-Aramaic: יַמּא דטבריא, גִּנֵּיסַר, ), also called Lake Tiberias, Genezareth Lake or Kinneret, is a freshwater lake in Israel. It is the lowest freshwater lake on Earth ...
, for irrigation and to bring sea water to the Dead Sea to create energy from its position of -390 m below sea level. One of those planners was the Zionist leader
Theodor Herzl Theodor Herzl (2 May 1860 – 3 July 1904) was an Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian Jewish journalist and lawyer who was the father of Types of Zionism, modern political Zionism. Herzl formed the World Zionist Organization, Zionist Organizat ...
. The completion of the National Water Carrier scheme in 1964 diverted water for
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
,
Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...
and
Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
to use for irrigation and drinking water. The
Red Sea The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...
Dead Sea The Dead Sea (; or ; ), also known by #Names, other names, is a landlocked salt lake bordered by Jordan to the east, the Israeli-occupied West Bank to the west and Israel to the southwest. It lies in the endorheic basin of the Jordan Rift Valle ...
conduit (RSDSC) was proposed at the end of the 1960s and was analysed as part of the peace process between Israel and Jordan. In the late 1990s a team headed by Refael (Rafi) Benvenisti working with Minister
Shimon Peres Shimon Peres ( ; ; born Szymon Perski, ; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician and statesman who served as the prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the president of Israel from 2007 t ...
as the Minister of Regional Cooperation suggested to establish the stabilization of the Dead Sea water level ('Saving the Dead Sea') as a major objective of the project. It suggested building the project in stages in order to test the mixing of the two seas water phasing the big investment associated with the project. The project was called "the Peace conduit" and was proposed to be located on Jordanian territory for financial and implementation reasons. On 9 May 2005, Jordan, Israel and the
Palestinian Authority The Palestinian Authority (PA), officially known as the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), is the Fatah-controlled government body that exercises partial civil control over the Palestinian enclaves in the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, ...
signed an agreement to go ahead with a feasibility study for the RSDSC. The agreement was signed on the Dead Sea by Jordanian Water Minister Raed Abu Soud, Israeli Infrastructure Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer and Palestinian Planning Minister Ghassan al-Khatib. In June 2009, after a meeting with
World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...
President Robert Zoellick, the Israeli Regional Cooperation Minister,
Silvan Shalom Zion Silvan Shalom (; born 4 August 1958) is an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Likud between 1992 and 2015. He held several prominent ministerial positions, including Deputy leaders of Israel#Vice Prime Minister, Vi ...
, announced a pilot project to build a "pilot" pipe 180 km long from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea. The pipe would pump 200 million cubic metres per year. Half of this would be desalinated for Jordanian consumption and half put into the Dead Sea. In October 2009 the Jordanian government announced that it would unilaterally tender a Jordan Red Sea Project. According to the government, this project could be considered as the first phase of the RSDSC project. The Jordan project was to be implemented by a private company under authority granted by the government. The project would also serve as an economic development project to create housing for 1.36 million people (1) south of Amman, (2) at the Southern end of the Dead Sea, (3) north of Aqaba and (4) in gated communities. Several tourist resorts would be created. It was divided into five phases. The first phase would include extraction of 400 million cubic metres of seawater per year, resulting in 210 million cubic metres/year (MCM/yr) of freshwater and 190 million cubic metres/year for discharge into the Dead Sea. The construction of the first phase was expected to take seven years.Jordan Red Sea Project
Jordan Red Sea Project Description
, retrieved on 11 May 2011
In March 2011, the Ministry of Water and Irrigation short-listed six firms for the first phase of the project. The World Bank announced that it would release a feasibility study of water conveyance from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea together with an environmental and social assessment as well as a study of alternatives in early 2012. The many alternatives studied included a restoration of the Jordan River to its natural flow and the taking of no action. In August 2013, Jordanian government announced that it would move ahead with the first phase of a project. On 9 December 2013, an agreement to build the pipeline was signed by Israel, Jordan, and Palestine. On 21 June 2016, Jordan announced that it had received 17 bids from international firms to construct the canal. On 27 November 2016, it was announced that the Jordanian government was shortlisting five consortia to implement the project. Jordan's ministry of Water and Irrigation said that the $100 million first phase of the project would begin construction in the first quarter of 2018, and would be completed by 2021. In June 2021, it was reported that the water level in the Dead Sea was shrinking at a rate of more than one metre per year, and that its surface area had shrunk by about 33% since the 1960s. This was largely due to the diversion of most of the flow into the Dead Sea from the Jordan River. In June 2021, the project was reportedly abandoned by the Jordanian government, citing a lack of interest by Israel.


Project features and benefits

The proposed conveyance would have pumped seawater 230 meters uphill from the Red Sea's Gulf of Aqaba through the Arabah Valley in Jordan. The water would then flow down gravitationally through multiple pipelines to the area of the Dead Sea, followed by a drop through a penstock to the level of the Dead Sea near its shore, thence via an open canal to the Sea itself, which lies about 420 meters below sea level. The project would have utilized about 225 km of pipelines for seawater and brine, parallel to the Arabah Valley in Jordan. The project would also have required about 178 km of freshwater pipelines to the
Amman Amman ( , ; , ) is the capital and the largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of four million as of 2021, Amman is Jordan's primate city and is the largest city in the Levant ...
area, as well as several water desalination plants and at least one hydroelectric plant. In its final phase, it would have produced about 850 million cubic meters of freshwater per year. The project would have required electric power from the Jordanian power grid. It would also have provided some electricity through hydroelectric power but would probably have been a large net user of energy. The net power demand would have had to be satisfied through other power projects whose costs are not included in the project costs. The Kingdom of Jordan had planned to build a large
nuclear power plant A nuclear power plant (NPP), also known as a nuclear power station (NPS), nuclear generating station (NGS) or atomic power station (APS) is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. As is typical of thermal power st ...
to make up at least some of the difference.


Costs and financing

The project cost estimates varied from two to more than ten billion dollars, depending on its structure and stages. The first phase of the Jordan Red Sea Project was expected to cost US$2.5 billion, and to be financed to a large extent from commercial sources, including debt and equity and soft international financing. As of January 2019, Israel had been expected to contribute over one billion dollars over a period of 25 years.Ora Coren
Jordan Won't Budge on Red Sea-Dead Sea Project - and Israel Will Pay the Price
Haaretz, 27 January 2019


Environmental impact

The transfer of mass volumes of water from one sea to another can have drastic consequences on the unique natural characteristics of each of the seas, as well as on the desert valley which separates them, the Arabah. Some of these characteristics, especially in the Dead Sea area, are unique on a global perspective, and therefore crucially important for conservation. The environmental group EcoPeace Middle East has protested against the allegedly premature approval of the project. By the mid- noughties, the group listed several potential hazardous effects of the project on the unique natural systems of the Red Sea, the Dead Sea, and the Arabah. Some have argued that these risks are serious enough to necessitate further discussion; others feel that their effects are negligible. In August 2011, the World Bank published a study based on environmental assessments carried out under its supervision. A letter to the World Bank was included in its introduction, in which the science team's leader explained that "it is preferable to study and mitigate unexpected impacts and phenomena which may arise when seawater first mixes in the Dead Sea, before a full scale RSDSC is implemented."


Dead Sea composition

There is a risk of damage to the unique natural system of the Dead Sea, due to mixing its water with Red Sea water, or brines created from the process of desalinating Red Sea water which has a different chemical composition. This potential damage includes changes in water salinity, massive formation of gypsum, formation of volatile toxic compounds, changes in water evaporation rates, changes in the composition of bacteria and algae which inhabit the sea surface, chemical changes in the rocks which surround the water, and loss of unique health benefits that account for much of the tourist attraction to the Dead Sea area. The report of Tahal Group, the Geological Survey of Israel,
Portland State University Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon, United States. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the next ...
, Oregon, US and Institute of Life Sciences at the
Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public university, public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. ...
, states: * "In order to stabilize the Dead Sea level, more than 700 MCM/yr (million cubic metres/year) of additional water is needed." * "The present conditions of the Dead Sea will be maintained at least up to inflow volume of about 400 MCM/yr". * "Potential for biological blooming exists only when stratification develops and the upper mixed layer is diluted by at least 10%" * "Once stratification develops and mixing occurs in the upper water column, there is a potential for "whitening" * Stratification may develop above inflow of 500–600 MCM/yr.


Gulf of Aqaba coral reefs

There is a risk of damage to the coral reefs of the Gulf of Aqaba, due to water pumping. The coral reefs have so far resisted bleaching despite
climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...
, but the conveyance could upset this balance. The report of Thetis SpA, the Interuniversity Institute For Marine Sciences In Eilat, Marine Science Station University of Jordan and Yarmouk University, Aqaba and Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research institute, states: * "The exchanges of water between the Gulf and the northern Red Sea through the Strait of Tiran are several orders of magnitude larger than those that would be induced by the proposed abstraction flows, such that the latter would likely be imperceptible except in the immediate vicinity of the sink. The expected effect of the abstraction on the heat budget of the gulf is also expected to be negligible". * "Based on above assessments our findings are for a 'go' decision, as long as the intake configuration, location, and depth are selected properly".


Arabah ecosystem

The scheme had the potential to cause Damage to the natural landscape and ecosystem of the Arabah, due to the construction process, and the increase in humidity caused by the open canal segments. According to the preferred scenario of the World Bank Study the conduit will be multiple buried pipelines and not canals. Special care will be taken to minimize the environmental and archeological damage.


Arabah aquifer

There is a risk of damage to the
aquifer An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing material, consisting of permeability (Earth sciences), permeable or fractured rock, or of unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt). Aquifers vary greatly in their characteristics. The s ...
of the Arabah, due to contamination of groundwater with water from the Red Sea. The alluvial deposits in Wadi Araba contain important supplies of fresh water. In the event that the pipeline ruptures (due to earthquake risk given the location in the
Jordan Rift Valley The Jordan Rift Valley, also Jordan Valley ( ''Bīqʿāt haYardēn'', Al-Ghor or Al-Ghawr), is an elongated endorheic basin located in modern-day Israel, Jordan and the West Bank, Palestine. This geographic region includes the entire length o ...
), these aquifers will be irreparably damaged. This can have fatal consequences to both the agriculture and ecosystem of the Arabah. The planning and construction of the pipelines will include measures to minimize the potential for pipeline ruptures.


Archeological heritage

There are also potential threats to the archeological heritage of the area if construction proceeded. The pipeline will cross areas of important cultural heritage, such as Wadi Finan, where the earliest copper mining and extraction in the world took place.Water expert: Red-Dead 'pilot' project could be premature
By EHUD ZION WALDOKS, 28 Jun 2009.


Other arguments

Israeli environmental NGOs say that the reestablishment of the Jordan River to its natural state was a better solution to the decline of the Dead Sea than the proposed canal. In 2005, the proposal also generated some concern by the chairman of
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
's
Suez Canal Authority Suez Canal Authority (SCA) is an Egyptian state-owned authority which owns, operates and maintains the Suez Canal. It was set up by the Egyptian government to replace the Suez Canal Company in the 1950s which resulted in the Suez Crisis. After ...
, who argued that the canal will increase seismic activity in the region, provide Israel with water for cooling its
nuclear reactor A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control a Nuclear fission, fission nuclear chain reaction. They are used for Nuclear power, commercial electricity, nuclear marine propulsion, marine propulsion, Weapons-grade plutonium, weapons ...
near Dimona, develop settlements in the
Negev Desert The Negev ( ; ) or Naqab (), is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The region's largest city and administrative capital is Beersheba (pop. ), in the north. At its southern end is the Gulf of Aqaba and the resort town, resort city ...
, and increase well salinity. However, as proposed, most of the desalinated water was expected to be used by Jordan and the
Palestinians Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenou ...
. Under the most recent proposal, water sufficient only to prevent the Dead Sea from dehydrating would have flowed through the system, preventing salt water flow into wells. The World Bank study recommended re-routing the conduit to avoid the geological faults of the Araba Valley. A 2019 episode of '' Nova'' centered around issues the proposed project aims to solve. The documentary argued that "it would take an enormous amount of water from the Sea of Galilee to stabilize the Dead Sea," citing the Sea of Galilee's loss of more than a hundred billion gallons between 2013 and 2018. On the same program, scientist Ittai Gavrieli discussed indirect problems such as excreting reject brine into the
Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...
. Gavrieli and others opined that the Dead Sea basin is a unique example of human-caused climate change that would serve as a valuable geological park.


See also

* Disi Water Conveyance * List of interoceanic canals * Aqaba–Amman Water Desalination and Conveyance Project


References


External links

* World Bank Study 201
Red Sea - Dead Sea Water Conveyance Study Program
* Dr M. Beyth Presentation of conduit
The Red Sea and the Mediterranean Dead Sea canals
2002 * Presentation of the Israeli project in Jordan 200

{{DEFAULTSORT:Red Sea-Dead Sea Water Conveyance Proposed canals Proposed infrastructure in Jordan Bodies of water of Jordan Water supply and sanitation in Jordan Israel–Jordan relations Israeli–Palestinian joint economic efforts Dead Sea Red Sea