Jordan to go solo with Red Sea to Dead Sea pipeline

Official says kingdom to build $2 billion pipeline without help from proposed partners Israel and Palestinian Authority. 'Jordan is thirsty and cannot wait any longer,' says country's chief representative in mega-project

AFP
Published: 10.01.09, 22:39 / Israel Activism

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3782663,00.html





Jordan has decided to go it alone and build a $2 billion pipeline from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea without help from proposed partners Israel and the Palestinian Authority, an official told AFP.



"Jordan is thirsty and cannot wait any longer," said Fayez Batayneh, the country's chief representative in the mega-project to provide drinking water and begin refilling the Dead Sea, which is on course to dry out by 2050.



"Israel and the Palestinians have raised no objection to Jordan starting on the first phase by itself," Batayneh said.



"The first stage, at an estimated cost of $2 billion, will begin in 2010 and should be completed in 2014 on a BOT (build, operate, transfer) basis," he said.

as the Dead Sea approaches sea level

They will use it to generate electricity.

...the new sea level will be at the foot of the lowest turbine outlet.

as planned? It sounds like a $2bil pipedream, you should pardon the expression.

will help Jordan's water woes......how????

Evaporation keeps the level of the Dead Sea much below sea level. This is a hydroelectric project. The addition of seawater to the Dead Sea will radically change its chemistry.

Similar projects have been proposed for California's Salton Sea. If the transfer of water went both ways then the Salton Sea's salinity could be maintained at a fairly constant level.

The Dead Sea proposals have the water going one way. The salt in the sea water stays there. The long term consequences will be very similar to natural processes that created other large salt deposits.

itself is problematic, but if you then do a desalination project with that water, it solves the problem, right? Yes, in the very long term more salt accumulates there faster, but it's already a complete wasteland, so.........

:shrug:

Sea, that is...

:+


(Hey, somebody had to say it!)