Where Has All the Water Gone?—Eric Dropkin & Elina Fonarev

Where Has All the Water Gone?—Eric Dropkin & Elina Fonarev

With the changing environment and the large population growth that will occur throughout the next few decades the water supply in Israel will become even more insufficient. All over the world ground water tables are falling and depleting at an astonishing rate. This is especially the case in the Middle East and Israel where water is becoming a scarcity. The Sea of Galilee and the aquifers within Jerusalem are approaching the black line. Over the next 50 years, wars will no longer be fought over oil, but water, which is why a case study will be conducted in dealing with the water supply within east and west Jerusalem. It is suggested that the water crisis is not only a natural phenomena but also created by mismanagement. This mismanagement of water in Jerusalem leads to a conflict between east and west Jerusalem inhabitants as well as a general crisis within the city.
If one traces the history of water within Jerusalem one can start to understand the circumstances of the current water crisis and the politics that surround it. In the city of David, around 700 BCE, Hezekiah's tunnel carried water from The Gihon Spring into the city. The Gihon Spring was outside the city walls; therefore, the tunnel was used to generate a constant supply of water to the city, which was especially important during times of siege and war. The tunnel was built in reaction to a fear of assault by the Assyrians. This way, the Assyrians would not be able to acquire water and would be forced to either surrender or travel to farther places to find water and eventually fail in their attempts to take over the city. In reality, there are actually multiple tunnels leading from the spring into the city, but Hezekiah’s is one of the most famous, and was cut acutely by two teams following a natural fault in the rock. Here one sees the most basic politics concerning water during the time of the City of David. Not only was water important to a political situation but also for sustaining life; thus, the tunnel represents how important water was throughout Jerusalem’s history.
The mismanagement of water in Jerusalem began as early as 1516 when the Ottomans conquered Israel. While the establishment of Ottoman rule brought the first water pipes to Jerusalem, the city was not seen as significant and thus the water supply was poorly orchestrated. Suleiman the Magnificent did however establish pipes to feed water to the Sabils (water fountains) throughout the city. These Sabils were an attempt to create a more hospitable environment for pilgrims traveling to Jerusalem as well as to those who had already settled there. Still, most families received little water, and the water that they did obtain came from community wells or cisterns which were filled by rain water. According to Itai Naamat, a student in the Department of Soil and Water Sciences at Hebrew University, the cisterns and wells often pulled water from the same aquifer below the city. Politically, during the time of the Turkish rule, Jerusalem was not seen as significant a place as it is today, thus, there was no money or time put into the up-keep of the city and it remained under unfavorable conditions until the British Mandate.
Following the defeat of the Turks in World War I, the British were given control of Jerusalem and Palestine under a mandate system. During what would later be called the British mandate, Jerusalem was modernized. Roads and hotels were built; this included a modern water system, houses were connected by pipes and running water rather then local community wells. After independence was declared in 1948, west Jerusalem was controlled by Israel, and east Jerusalem was under the authority of Jordan. This division led to the current political tension concerning water within Jerusalem.
The total population of municipal Jerusalem was approximately 680,000 in 2005; of that 680,000, Palestinian residents made up approximately 33 percent of the population in Jerusalem while Jewish residents account for the other 67 percent of the population. Like all of Israel, Jerusalem gets the majority of its water from the Mekorot Water Company. Mekorot Water Company Ltd. is a Government-owned national water supply company. Mekorot produces and supplies roughly two-thirds of the total amount of water used in Israel. As the national water supply company it is responsible for managing the country's water resources, developing new sources, and ensuring regular delivery of water to all localities. This is important because here one can try to distinguish between national policies and policies within Jerusalem. While Mekorot supplies the majority of the water, the Jerusalem municipality is responsible for the up-keep of pipes and infrastructure within both east and west Jerusalem. However, because East Jerusalem has only been under Israeli since 1967 its infrastructure has been slower to change and modernize especially with West Jerusalem’s current mismanagement crisis.
Jerusalem has virtually no water supply of its own and as a result of ineffective water infrastructure and city planning water is becoming more and more sparse. Currently Jerusalem gets the majority of its water from four pipes that stem from the Keneret. Also, it draws a significant portion of water from the Aquifer. Thus, Jerusalem gets little water from these two areas, and as a result of its population growth and mismanagement, the water received is not enough to maintain both agriculture and potable use. According to Mekorot chairman Eli Ronen, “With the rising Jerusalem population and the expansion of the city into new neighborhoods water demand will continue to increase.” Mr. Mazon, Director of joint Jewish and Palestinian Water Committee, suggests that for the last 20 years the city has neglected to carefully manage the water supply and the infrastructure. Therefore, the current water crisis exists today in both east and west Jerusalem.
If one looks at the data associated with water supply and demand within east and west Jerusalem there is a discrepancy between the two sides of the city. Residents in East Jerusalem often have no water for four to five days out of the week. Also, the price of water that East Jerusalem residents must pay is 25 percent more than that of the residents that live within West Jerusalem. Meanwhile, Jewish neighborhoods in the Jerusalem area use four times the amount of water that Palestinian villages use, even though there are fewer infrastructures per inhabitant. The difference in water quality that East Jerusalem and West Jerusalem receives is also different. East Jerusalem gets its water directly from the mountain aquifer making its water more polluted than West Jerusalem, who uses recycled water as well as water pumped in from the northern regions of Israel. This has to do with the fact that East Jerusalem does not have a treatment plant while West Jerusalem does. In 1999 the Soreq sewage treatment plant was opened, the plant purifies sewage from West Jerusalem, while there is no treatment plant for East Jerusalem. Due to the poor sewage system in Jerusalem much of the waste that leaves the pipes gets carried out to streams and valleys in the West Bank and enters the mountain aquifer. Critics have argued that this amounts to discrimination and neglect on the part of the Israeli and local Jerusalem governments. This causes arguments between East Jerusalem residents that West Jerusalem is favored while East Jerusalem is neglected.
There are multiple theories of why there are inequalities in the water supply between east and west Jerusalem. After the 1967 war, Israel reunited east and west Jerusalem and the Jerusalem municipality agreed to take over the East Jerusalem Arab villages as well as the laws that govern the city. Here is where one starts to see the major arguments that deal with the disproportionate water supplies to east and west Jerusalem. According to Ahron Roseber of the Jerusalem municipality, the infrastructure in East Jerusalem between 1948 and 1967 was neglected. She suggests that the water problems in East Jerusalem came from this neglect rather then current local policy. Furthermore, she pointed out that Palestinian neighborhoods are growing at a faster rate then those of West Jerusalem. This growth rate is putting higher stress on an older water system, causing the previously mentioned problems. It’s not that the Israeli government is shutting off the water to East Jerusalem like some Palestinians may suggest, but rather that there own demand is causing the shortage. She then suggested that due to higher demand and weaker infrastructure, residence in East Jerusalem pay more for water than those that live in the west. Furthermore, Israeli officials suggest that Arab villages in east Jerusalem have dug illegal wells, hastening the water shortage. Thus, East Jerusalem is facing a graver water situation than West Jerusalem.
However, there have been attempts to help stop the water shortage. There are multiple plans in the works. There are plans to build a fifth water pipe to supply more water to Jerusalem. The new system will include: a 3.5 meter in diameter tunnel, 14 km long and dug beneath the Judean Hills as well as pumping stations, reservoirs, and transformer stations. The pipeline will supply up to 500,000 cu. m. of water a day at a peak operating capacity (150 million cubic meters a year) from Israel’s coastal plain to the elevated heights of Jerusalem. If predictions are correct, this pipeline could provide enough water for the next 30 years to both east and west Jerusalem. Also, there are attempts to improve water conservation within the city. Normally only 60 to 80 percent of water pumped through a city is actually used while the rest escapes out of the water pipes as a result of pressure which overloads the pipes and causes them to leak. Israel is implementing The Smart Pressure Reduction Controller (SPRC) in Jerusalem. SPRC automatically sets the pressure according to water demand in real time, so that when demand is low, the pressure is lower, and less water leaks out. Another proposition to help the water crisis is to build a canal from the Jordan River to the Red Sea. The Jordan River is in bad condition because of decades of overuse and abuse. The lower portion of the river has been reduced to a seep of mainly raw sewage and saltwater runoff. Thus, in an attempt to clean this area as well as to provide water plans for a canal have been offered. However, with much opposition from Jordan and Egypt as well as environmentalists, this proposal was put on hold if not eliminated altogether as an option.
Today, when people are asked about the water problem that Jerusalem is facing most do not even realize it is a problem. In 2001, when there was a giant drought, many were aware of the situation. However, not much has been done to secure water for the future. East and west Jerusalem are still facing a water shortage question with many solutions but few attempts to actually compromise on a final agreement. Politics surround the issue as well as a history of mismanagement. While there are no clues as to whether there will ever be enough water for the Middle East, it can be stated that the next time one is in Israel, drink lots of water but remember that you’re drinking something more valuable in the Middle East than oil.