Israel and Desalinization

The Dark · Post by **The Dark** » 2004-11-12 05:50pm

As my earlier promise to look up Israel's desalinization efforts is now in a locked thread, I'm starting this only to post what I found. DO NOT hijack this into another damn IvP thread

.

Israel hasa handful of desalinization plants, at Eilat, Ashkelon, and Ashdod. It is estimated that 27 more would be necessary to supply Israel's current needs.

Israel consumes roughly 200 billion cubic meters of water per year, and are obligated to give the Jordanians 1.9 million cubic feet and the Palestinians 1.6 billion cubic feet per year (sorry about the different measurements, I am using various sources).

One proposal has been to use South Africa's "nuclear modules" (standardized nuclear plants) to build dual-purpose electricity/desal plants. This would require 60 reactors to provide sufficient desal for the current Israeli population, not including the guarantees of water to Jordan and Palestine.

Israel has put out a tender for bids on building desal plants, so the aquifer access I said was a major roadblock to peace may not be a problem 10 years down the road.

Israel has been drawing water from the Dead Sea for use. So much, in fact, that the has receded over 150 feet in the last 40 years. The water levels has dropped over 250 feet.

Sources used:
The Schiller Institute
The Institute for Advanced Strategic and Political Studies
TruthNews
The Dying Dead Sea
Israel's Ministry of National Infrastructure

Aaron · Post by **Aaron** » 2004-11-12 06:34pm

Well, I thought I had found an easy answer to certain problems with the desal idea. Now I see that it's really not feasible without some major engineering projects.

Bob the Gunslinger · Post by **Bob the Gunslinger** » 2004-11-12 07:43pm

If you want easy answers, you're going to have to talk to Shep.

Aaron · Post by **Aaron** » 2004-11-12 07:58pm

Bob the Gunslinger wrote:If you want easy answers, you're going to have to talk to Shep.

Let me guess. NUKE EM!

CJvR · Post by **CJvR** » 2004-11-12 08:10pm

Water from the Dead sea? The only thing that is good for is salt making.

Aaron · Post by **Aaron** » 2004-11-12 08:13pm

CJvR wrote:Water from the Dead sea? The only thing that is good for is salt making.

Well I would imagine that it is brought through a desalination plant.

MKSheppard · Post by **MKSheppard** » 2004-11-12 08:37pm

Cpl Kendall wrote:Let me guess. NUKE EM!

Nay, Israel shall build dozens of RBMK plants to provide for it's
desalinization needs.

Aaron · Post by **Aaron** » 2004-11-12 08:43pm

MKSheppard wrote: Nay, Israel shall build dozens of RBMK plants to provide for it's
desalinization needs.

Even the Israeli's aren't crazy enough to operate Russian reactors.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2004-11-12 08:49pm

Face it, either you produce a shitload of power to operate such plants likely using reverse osmosis which is highly energy involving, or you import water from elsewhere.

There's a water crisis in the works on a global scale with scuffles going on already between the likes of the US and Mexico and India and Pakistan. So imagine what will happen when the Middle-east - being such a bastion of civility - will turn into when the shit really hits the fan.

HemlockGrey · Post by **HemlockGrey** » 2004-11-12 09:25pm

Israel consumes roughly 200 billion cubic meters of water per year, and are obligated to give the Jordanians 1.9 million cubic feet and the Palestinians 1.6 billion cubic feet per year (sorry about the different measurements, I am using various sources).

Don't the Palestinians greatly outnumber the Israelis? Where do they get the rest of their water from?

The Dark · Post by **The Dark** » 2004-11-12 10:55pm

HemlockGrey wrote:
Israel consumes roughly 200 billion cubic meters of water per year, and are obligated to give the Jordanians 1.9 million cubic feet and the Palestinians 1.6 billion cubic feet per year (sorry about the different measurements, I am using various sources).

Don't the Palestinians greatly outnumber the Israelis? Where do they get the rest of their water from?

Probably from their territory

. Actually, to be honest, I have no clue. I think that that's in addition to what the Palestinians are entitled to from their holdings, but the stories are a bit more vague than I'd wish.

Although, given that Israel has 6 million residents, and there are 1.1 million Palestinians in Israel (thus included among the 6 million) and 3.7 million in Gaza and the West Bank, they don't outnumber the Israelis. They're about 80% the size of Israel, once the number of Palestinians in Israel is subtracted from the Israeli population and added to the Palestinian.

HemlockGrey · Post by **HemlockGrey** » 2004-11-12 11:05pm

Probably from their territory . Actually, to be honest, I have no clue. I think that that's in addition to what the Palestinians are entitled to from their holdings, but the stories are a bit more vague than I'd wish.

I was under the impression that Israel had full control over all the water supplies in the Occupied Territories, which were de facto extensions of Israel?

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2004-11-13 03:23am

HemlockGrey wrote:
I was under the impression that Israel had full control over all the water supplies in the Occupied Territories, which were de facto extensions of Israel?

They have pretty much full control of the water in places in which it is running from the tap. However much of the West bank and Gaza, espically outside of the cities doesn't have running water and people get it from wells and underground collection points. Isreal doesn't have any control over those, but because they reley on groundwater levels remaining fairly high they are still the source of a great deal of trouble.