The Civil Administration and the Water and Sewage Authority recently approved the construction of a pipe to channel purified sewage to irrigate agricudlture in the Jordan Valley.

But environmental experts say the move will prevent an overall solution to the problem of the flow of sewage from Jerusalem and Bethlehem into the Kidron Stream toward the Judean Desert and the Dead Sea.

Work on the project, which is also said to contravene agreements with the Palestinians, has begun in recent weeks to build a pipe from the Hyrcania Valley, about halfway between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea. At that point a dam will confine the sewage, which will be channeled by pipe to the Jordan Valley where, after purification, it will irrigate date plantations.

	Advertisement

Almost 10 million cubic meters of sewage from the Jewish and Arab neighborhoods of north Jerusalem and Bethlehem flow through the Kidron. Jerusalem's water and sewage company has begun to prepare alternatives to deal with the problem.

One is to impound effluents near Jerusalem and channel them through a tunnel under areas in Palestinian civil control, and then connect it to a pipe to a purification facility. The tunnel will obviate the need to obtain Palestinian agreement for the pipe.

Another possibility is to build purification facilities near Jerusalem and channel the treated effluents from that point. A study initiated by the German Science Ministry in collaboration with Israeli and Palestinian teams is also looking into the problem.

"What kind of treatment is it to let the sewage flow to Hyrcania and only then to remove it from the stream" said Prof. Reuven Laster, an environmental law expert on the Israeli team.

Laster says the work is being done hastily and "without coordinating with the Palestinians with whom we have agreements about water."

He added that with "such an enormous investment, it won't be temporary because they won't invest in anything else."

Geographer Almog Ram, another member of the Israeli team, notes that the flow of sewage through the desert changes the composition of its flora and fauna, and that much of the sewage seeps into the groundwater and contaminates the water table.

However, Zeevik Ahipaz of the Water and Sewage Authority said: "This pipe is not a substitute for sewage treatment by the Jerusalem Municipality. It will become part of other solutions that have not yet been approved."

"We have therefore decided to authorize assistance to the project of a little under NIS 20 million. This is not optimal, but it will improve the situation in which sewage flows to the Dead Sea. We will not delay a pollution-prevention project just because we haven't yet obtained understandings with the Palestinians," he said.

"After we understood from the Water Authority that there was no alternative, we decided not to oppose the plan," said Shoni Goldberger, the Environmental Protection Ministry's Jerusalem district head. He said the ministry continues to pressure the Jerusalem Municipality to find permanent solutions.

The Civil Administration said in its surveys conducted last year that groundwater pollution was found along the Kidrom, and a number of treatments are being examined.

The pipeline was propsed as a temporary response to the issue. A permanent overall solution is also in preparation. The Civil Administration is obligated to advance this solution and is examining the proposal to impound the sewage, together with other solutions, in consideration of all components including the time factor.