After 13 years, Dead Sea rises 8 centimeters
Water Authority: This winter's rain has covered the water deficits of the past year.
By Amiram Cohen Tags: Israel newsAfter years of drought-like conditions that saw the water level of the Dead Sea plummet by 15 meters, this winter the water level rose by 8 centimeters, the Water Authority said Wednesday.
Water levels have also risen back to the critical "red line" in several subterranean aquifers, for the first time in years, and the mountain and coastal aquifers have regained the water levels of last year.
According to the Water Authority, this effectively means this winter's rain has covered the water deficits of the past year, but not of the past five years. The authority's statement noted Lake Kinneret's water level went up to the lower red line (213 meters) for the first time since July 2008, springs supplying the Naaman Stream have began flowing again for the first time since July 2007, and record-breaking water quantities were registered in streams feeding the Kinneret.
The most prominent rise was recorded in the Saar Stream, where 25 cubic meters per second were registered, as compared to the previous record of 20.4 cubic meters per second in 1982.
The Water Authority made no comment about the possibility of reinstituting the drought tax next month and increasing the volume of water allocated to agriculture by 15 percent. Decisions on both matters may be postponed until next month, to be reviewed in light of the rain quantities that will be measured this month.
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Just how stupid can we be? we are killing the kineret, we do the same to the dead sea who will become realy dead. There is one good news in it, we may discover the ruins of Sodom and Gomora and declare them as national Shrines (no prolem with that, they are both in Israel and not in the Occupied territories). we may consider though the modification of culture by going to less water consuming plants and using water saving procedures for irrigation as partial solution. at the same time pushing the red sea-dead sea canal program which will give us relatively cheap electricity (for us and for Jordan) while at the same time openning a nice touriists attraction in the Arava with a certain improvement of climate in the region and a gradual rise of the dead sea water level.
after 13 years, the level didn't go down 15 meters, but rather 14.92 meters. that's still comforting news!
Learn from others what happens when you allow drastic environmental shifts to transpire. It impacts economy, society, health, as well as the environment. Look what happened in Russia when they ruined the Aral Sea. Among other things, many people living in the region became sick with cancer. Don't do this! Check out the feasibility of Red-Dead or even revive the Med-Dead plan. The Dead Sea needs a massive infusion of water. If sea water can do it, then for Heaven's sake do it!
The lakes and streams are still suffering the effects of years of drought and overuse. Israel *has* taken steps to ameliorate the situation, not just by expanding its desalination facilities but by conservation and increased reliance on recycled ("gray") water, now used extensively for agriculture. Israelis today use less than half the per capita water they did a generation ago. Jordan is far behind Israel on this score. But the notion that because of one normal winter Israel can set aside its conservation efforts is simply foolish.The water level hasn't even reached the upper Red Line, only the lower one. Get back to us when the level approaches maximum capacity. It'll put us in better stead for future lean years.
i don't know what is correct and what is not, but if no 4 is, that certainly shut you up no 3 - and i don't see any response for a few hours
The earth is evolving. It always has and always will. Let us say we humans live an average of 90 years. We have some sort of records that go back centuries. But this in the whole scheme of things is like a milisecond to the amount of time the earth has been around. Weather patterns have changed thousands of times.
controlling sources of Jordan.It could freely regulate the flow but even in the worst draught years it pumps huge amounts of water into the river in order to satisfy the Kingdom of Jordan. Pumps ,not just allowing the free flow. The peace treaty with Israel stipulated "Israel will help Jordan to meet its water requirements" ,which Israelis had thought meant Israeli help with desalinisation but Jordanians demanded and got very significantly increased flow of water into Jordan ,to be pumped and diverted to satisfy the completely unprofitable Jordanian agriculture. Israeli agriculture uses recycled sewage water from TA while Jordanians pump the Jordan River dry .
Have you ever checked to see how much water is diverted by Israel for agriculture as compared with Jordanian use for the same purpose? Does Israel have some kind of entitlement?
We have to hope for exceptional heavy rain in order to save the dead sea from extinction? The way israel is destroying environment is simply amazing. Please quit using the Dead Sea as a dump for all settlements around Jerus and the Jordan Valley.
water flow from the hills aroun the Dead Sea to its innefective agriculture It also pumps a disproportionate amount of water from the River Jordan ,telling Israel it's a "price of peace"