Jordan to refill Dead Sea from Red Sea

[The Straight Story]

Jordan to refill Dead Sea from Red Sea

AMMAN, Jordan, Oct. 10 (UPI) -- Jordan's plan to refill the Dead Sea with water from the Red Sea could damage ecosystems in both bodies of water, environmentalists warn.

Water levels in the Dead Sea, the Earth's lowest and saltiest body of water, have been shrinking by more than 4 feet a year for the last 20 years, largely because of water extracted for drinking, agriculture and industry, The Daily Telegraph reported Saturday.

The Jordanian government plans to extract more than 10 billion cubic feet a year from the Red Sea, 110 miles to the south, route most of it to a desalination plant to create drinking water, and then send the remaining salty wastewater to the Dead Sea by tunnel, Jordanian Water Minister Maysoun Zu'bi said. The project would begin as soon as funding is arranged, Zu'bi said.

Environmentalists warn that mixing two types of saltwater could produce algae blooms in the Dead Sea, while increased salinity in the Red Sea could damage fish and coral, the Telegraph reported.

http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2009/10/10/Jordan-to-refill-Dead-Sea-from-Red-Sea/UPI-89501255191608/

[BrklynLiberal]

1. That sure sounds like a horrendous idea......

[3waygeek]

2. Well, as Repubs used to say..

better dead than red.

[Vinnie From Indy]

3. Den Dey'll Hab da Dready Sea Don Ya Know Mon!

Rasta On Mon!

[vadawg]

4. all im thinking is thirsty people to environmentalists screw you,,,

i guess if your living in a desert area and your thirsty you are not going to care what an environmentalist tells you, i think it al comes down to the priorities of whats more important ot the individual water for his family or water for a fish....

[Ruby the Liberal]

5. The Dead sea is not used for desalination

You can literally sit on it and read a paper it is so dense.

Desalination for Israel and Jordan is done from the Red Sea and the Mediterranean.

[vadawg]

6. yup i know that, what i am saying is the local people probuably dont care what you and i think

they will take water form the red sea, desalinate it and pump the residue to the dead sea because for them its more cost effective.

[UndertheOcean]

7. Well , if nothing is done the dead sea will be gone withing a few decades

[NV Whino]

8. Will that leave the Dead Sea red?

Or the Red Sea dead?

[wuushew]

9. Med to Dead is the easier construction project

I predict nothing will come of the Jordanian route.

[vadawg]

11. problem is then its through israeli territory and i think the jordanians probuablt want a secure wat

water supply...

[wuushew]

15. They should still desalinate but with solar instead

the problem with the Jordanian route is you have to pump the water over a small mountain range before it can flow down hill to the Dead sea. The route going through Israel would be shorter and not involve mechanical pumping. I am guessing any Israeli deslination would be done closer to the coast and necessarily result in lower salinity versus the waste water approach outlined in the Red to Dead plan.

[vadawg]

16. i think my poinit was that the jordanians wont want their water supply to cross israel due to

the fear that israel will then control that water supply.

[Blue-Jay]

10. What could possibly go wrong?

[grantcart]

12. lol

[MH1]

13. facepalm

you don't have to be a biologist to guess that might not be a smart move.

:banghead:

[TxRider]

14. With how we treat the great lakes, co river, draining aquafers etc,

We don't have a whole lot of position to talk down to them from.

[Iggo]

17. Rename it the Dread Sea?

[stray cat]

18. On the other hand if the dead sea dries completely up its not good for the ecosystem either

[TxRider]

19. I thought I also read they were going to put hydro power stations on the tunnel as well.