1.1 S
COPE OF THIS RESEARCHToday, Jordan, already among the ten water poorest countries in the world, faces a severe water crisis.
It was estimated, that only 20% of the renewable water resources can be used. The rest is lost through evaporation (Salameh and Haddadin 2006). Because of the inflow of refugees from neighboring countries, which took place over the last 66 years, the population grew 11.5 fold (Salameh and Haddadin 2006). This population increase along with the rapid socio-economic development put stress on the water demand. Groundwater resources are overused at a rate of 104 Mm3/y and this rate is still increasing despite the government’s efforts to reduce overexploitation (Salameh and Haddadin 2006).
Despite the overuse of blue water resources, the per capita share of water in Jordan (2004) is only 396 m3/y (Salameh and Haddadin 2006). The overexploitation of groundwater resources has degraded water quality, which resulted in the abandonment of many water wells (Chebaane et al. 2004, Al-Kharabsheh-Atef 1999) and which endangers a future use of the limited groundwater resources (Salameh 1996; Dottridge and Abu-Nizar 1999).
In the light of the report on world climate, published in early 2007 by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a bigger challenge regarding water management awaits Jordan in the future.
The discovery that global warming is man made and that an increase in global temperature is inevitable even when immediate measurements are taken, has consequences for the future water availability in the region. Climate models of the Mediterranean Basin for the end of this century show a decrease in the total amount of yearly precipitation (up to –57 mm/y for the whole Mediterranean basin) and an increase in evaporation rates (Ulbrich et al. 2006). Less rainfall however has direct influence on soils and vegetation and therefore on human and animal life.
Although the current and future water crisis in Jordan cannot only be overcome by using more blue water resources, it is however an integral part of the solution. In order to achieve a sustainable state of water resources and to quantify the impact of climate change on water resources a proper assessment of the groundwater resources as well as their quality is demanded. Groundwater systems in semi-arid areas are frequently not being sufficiently characterized hydrogeologically and long term data are generally not available. Long-term time series are necessary however to design future groundwater abstraction scenarios or to predict the influence of future climate change effects on groundwater resources. To overcome these problems an integrated approach for the provision of a reliable database based on sparse and fuzzy data is proposed (Fig. 1.1-1). This integrated approach combines geological, geophysical, hydrogeological, historical, and chemical methods and is demonstrated using the lowermost area of the Jordan Valley.
A historical approach (chapter 3) is used to detect the general conditions under which the groundwater system has been in the past. These conditions include the natural flow conditions, the impact of the rapid development of the Jordan Valley from the 1950s onward, as well as the influence of periods of drought and of intensive rainfall on the groundwater system. The aquifer geometry and composition is described in chapter 4. Based on field investigations and intensive literature studies the depositional environment and its sedimentological and hydraulic characteristics are evaluated. Chapter 5 describes the spatial distribution and the temporal development of groundwater quality. Possible origins of groundwater in the study area are proposed and the effect of major stress periods, which were described in chapter 3, on the groundwater quality are addressed. Information about soil and groundwater salinization and their spatial distribution that can be acquired by the application of surface geophysical methods (resistivity measurements) are described as well as their limitations in unconsolidated brackish environments. A water budget is calculated by the application of direct and indirect information. A minimum water demand for the test area is estimated with the help of fuzzy information and remote sensing techniques. This type of fuzzy information includes, information about irrigation techniques, about cultivated crops, and about growing seasons. The area under cultivation was identified for different periods by the classification of Landsat images. The findings of the different chapters are implemented into a steady-state and transient flow model (chapter 7). In
1. Introduction
order to be able to predict the impacts of climate change scenarios on the groundwater system, this flow was tested against the depicted stress periods on the groundwater systems for a period of 40 years. The flow model provides the means for testing the consistency of the rather heterogeneous quality of the historical data set and would allow the simulation of the future impact of management strategies as well as climate change scenarios.Fig. 1.1-1: Flow chart of the integrated approach applied in this study.
1.2 T
HEG
ERMAN- I
SRAELI- J
ORDANIAN- P
ALESTINIANJ
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ESEARCHP
ROGRAM(GIJP)- W
ATERR
ESOURCESE
VALUATION FOR AS
USTAINABLED
EVELOPMENT IN THEJ
ORDANR
IFTB
ASINThis research was carried out under the German-Israeli-Jordanian-Palestinian Joint Research Program for Water Resources Evaluation in the Jordan Rift Basin (GIJP). The GIJP project is a project supported by the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the Israeli Ministry of Science and Technology (MOS). The scientific coordinator of the project is Prof. H. Hötzl, Karlsruhe University in Germany. More than 12 institutions participate in the joint research program and work together on one of the main issues in the Middle East region: water resources.
The evaluation of fresh water resources and their sustainable management in the Jordan Valley are essential to satisfy the increasing water demand of the growing Israeli, Palestinian, and Jordanian population living in this region. One of the greatest challenges not only for scientists but also for landuse planners and politicians is the scarcity of water due to climate conditions in the region.
Detailled investigations of the geological, hydrogeological and hydraulic conditions are important to find out more about the interrelations between groundwater storage, groundwater protection and the outflow to the Jordan valley.
Joint Working Groups
The structure diagram below shows the organisation of the Joint Research Program. In a symbolic way it is shaped like a building, which is shared jointly by all counterparts. The foundations is formed by three methodical service blocks including the hydrogeologic database VEGA, the laboratory facilities for isotope and rare earth elements and the numerical modelling base group. The main part of the house is taken up by the four Joint Working Groups which are connected in an integrated way like the open rooms of a house. The roof of this house is formed by the co-ordination group, which consists of the scientific co-ordinator and the project board. Like an umbrella the Steering Committee is placed on the building with the representatives of the ministries and the scientific advisors.
First Phase of the Research Project 1997-2000
From 1997 to 2000 the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the Israeli Ministry of Science and Technology (MOS) supported the multinational research project "Sustainable utilization of aquifer systems bordering the lower Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea". The results obtained during the first project phase are essential for water resources planners in the region to understand the hydrodynamic and hydrogeological conditions of groundwater flow in the lower part of the Jordan valley and the northern Dead Sea. The objectives of the first phase of the research project were to
(a) encourage the co-operative aspects between the researchers in the region to solve water problems in teamwork.
(b) understand the hydrodynamic and hydrogeological conditions in the lower Jordan valley and the surrounding escarpments on both sides of the Jordan river.
(c) evaluate the effects of Dead Sea water level changes on the adjacent aquifers.
The investigations in the period 1997 to 2000 were concentrated on a regional hydrological, hydrogeological and hydrochemical database as well as on an exemplary detailed study along a section from Jerusalem to Amman crossing the Jordan rift valley. The investigations included the collection of hydrochemical and hydraulic data of the main aquifers and the development of a software for an integrated hydrogeological database. The investigations also dealt with the effects of the Dead Sea level decrease on the bordering aquifers and the salt-/fresh water interface. A numerical groundwater model for a restricted part of the catchment and a new comprehensive hydrodynamic concept for a groundwater model in the region was developed. The results of this research project were encouraging in every aspect and lead to a second project phase from 2000 to 2003.
1. Introduction
JUA: Jordan University Amman
UFZ: Environmental Research Center Leipzig-Halle JMW: Jordan Ministry of Water
GFZ: Geo Research Center Potsdam
MEK: Mekorot Company, Israel
UKA: Karlsruhe University
TAU: Tel Aviv University
PCG:
GTU: University Group (Goettingen University, Tuebingen University)
Palestinian Consultancy Group (incl.
Palestinian Hydrology Group, Water Authority of the West Bank)
Second Phase of the Research Project 2000-2004
In continuation of the first project phase the existing relevant data in the region are collected, evaluated and summarized in an integrated database. Another main part of the second project phase are hydrogeological and geophysical investigations along several transsects normal to the graben system. The results of these studies will be helpful for the three-dimensional interpretation of the catchment area which will result in a 3D - basin analysis. Large-scale vulnerability maps are produced to support the groundwater protection and management in the future. Detailed studies deal with the salt-/fresh water interface at the Dead Sea. Together with the hyrochemical data and results of isotope studies the research work will be a great step forward regarding aspects of water budget, quantities of fresh water resources and an improved groundwater management. The presented research was carried out during the second phase of the GIJP project.
The results of the GIJP project are summarized and published in the book “Sustainable water resources management in the Jordan-Dead Sea Rift System”.