A fresh glass of cool, clear water is a luxury in many places of the world. This is illustrated in one of the most significant places in world history, the Dead Sea, located in the southern part of Israel. It is truly an exceptional spot on earth. Since it is 1385 feet below sea level, it distinguishes itself as the lowest place on the surface of the earth. Water cannot flow out so only through evaporation can water escape, leaving behind the dissolved salts and minerals brought in by the Jordan River and other tributaries. It is Israel’s and Jordan’s mineral and salt waste deposit.
A fresh glass of cool, clear water is a luxury in many places of the world. For example, take the Dead Sea in the southern part of Israel. It is unique among the places of the earth. First it is 1385 feet below sea level, the lowest place on the surface of the earth. Water cannot flow out so only through evaporation can water escape, leaving behind the dissolved salts and minerals brought in by the Jordan River and other tributaries. In that sense it is a natural waste dump for Israel and Jordan.
Secondly, at 8.6 times saltier than the oceans, the Dead Sea is second saltiest body of water on earth. That means a cup of water from the Dead Sea is 33.7% salt. Deeper water is even saltier so that, below 300 feet, the salt crystallizes and falls to the bottom. Third, at 42 feet long, 11 miles wide, and 1240 feet deep, it is the deepest salt lake in the world.
Vast stores of potash, bromine, caustic soda, magnesium, and sodium chloride have been left by the evaporating water over the last several thousand years. One estimate is that the Dead Sea area holds more than two trillion dollars worth of fertilizer compounds (presently 1.9 billion tons of potash). Ironically, what makes the Dead Sea dead has contributed to giving its homelands life.
But the level of water in the Dead Sea is dropping at a present rate of three feet a year. This means since 1970, the level has dropped 72 feet. What is the cause of this? The first reason is that very little rain feeds it directly. The northern part of the Dead Sea gets less than 4 inches of rain a year, while the southern part only gets about two inches. Also, manufacturing in the northern part of the country, and irrigation take away 90% of the normal amount of water flowing through the Jordan River.
Some believe the salts in the Sea have therapeutic value and, for this reason, they are taken out of the Dead Sea and sold. Desalination plants located in the southern part of the Sea both remove valuable products and provide fresh, clean water. This loss of water has actually lowered the water table in the country, and this affects the ability of the land to provide enough water for the citizens and, therefore, increases the need to take water from the Jordan.
Of course this water level drop affects the entire country. For example, this drop has caused the Dead Sea to actually change shape. The shallow area of the Sea is located in the bottom third. Some believe that the ancient cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, mentioned in Genesis, were located in this area. But, because of the lower water level, the Lisan Peninsula (Arabic for “tongue” because of its shape) now separates the Sea into two parts.
The Dead Sea has been a great tourist attraction for centuries, and this drop in its level may have an effect on this. But the Dead Sea is, frankly, a healthy place to be, for it has a low level of allergens, increased air pressure, decreased ultra-violet solar radiation, and high levels of oxygen.
Presently Israel and Jordan are examining the possibility of a joint project called the “Two Seas Canal". It would pump salt water from the Aqaba region of the Red Sea 125 miles over the hills to the Dead Sea. As the water falls into the Dead Sea, it would generate hydroelectricity and the water would then be desalinated, providing 850 million cubic meters of fresh water a year.
People in the west surely take for granted a glass of fresh, clean water. Other nations must go to great trouble to provide it for their people, and often must limit its use so there is enough. Whether or not our sources of water are threatened, wise stewardship is in order so that we continue to have enough of this life-giving liquid for years to come
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