The solution to the flooding looming over the south banks of the Dead Sea will be to harvest the salt which is causing water levels to rise, Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan and Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov announced recently.
The solution was formulated by a government committee tasked with outlining a perennial development plan for the Dead Sea area, which includes preserving the area's unique environment while boosting its economic standing.
The decision coincides with a report by the Dead Sea Preservation Government Company (HELI), which has been trying to devise a solution to the rising water level, which threatens the area's booming hotel industry.
Water levels on the Dead Sea's south shore, where the hotel strip is located, rise about 20cm a year; while remaining relatively stable on the north shore, as a result of their use by Dead Sea Works industries.
HELI's environmental report concluded that the salt accumulated on the south basin of the Dead Sea must be harvested in order to foil the threat of flooding.
Aerial view of the Dead Sea hotel strip (Photo: Lowshot)
This recommendation is a significant achievement for various environmental groups, including the Society for Protection of Nature in Israel and Israel's Nature and National Parks Service, as well as for the Dead Sea Hotels Association, all of which backed the possibility of a salt harvest.
The second possibility for evading a flood was to uproot the Dead Sea hotel strip in its entirety and move it to the northern banks.
Financially speaking, the salt harvest is considered the more expensive alternative: HELI estimates moving the hotels at NIS 3-4 billion (roughly $1 billion), while the slat harvest is likely to cost about NIS 7 billion (approx. $2 billion).
'A brave decision'
The various environmental groups rooting for the salt harvest hailed the recommendation, saying that the salt harvest was the preferable solution, as it is "environmentally responsible."
A salt harvest, they said in a statement, is "the only solution that allows for the continuous, unhindered operation of both the hotels and salt industries; while leaving the area's environmental balance unharmed."
Minister Erdan added that "while salt harvest also has an environmental impact, eventually there is no other way. In the long run we would have had to pursue it anyway. It is also the only reversible solution – if a better solution presents itself in the future we can always stop the harvest."
Attorney Amit Bracha, CEO of the Israel Union for Environmental Defense, called on the Environmental Protection Ministry to further explore ways to minimize the effects Dead Sea Works operations have on the northern basin, saying investing government funds in rehabilitating the area should take precedent to investing in tourist attractions.
MK Nitzan Horowitz (Meretz), who heads the Dead Sea Lobby in the Knesset, welcomed the decision as well: "From day one we stresses that a salt harvest is the only way to solve the south basin crisis. The government has to implement its decision sooner rather than later. We have no more time to waste."
One of a kind area (Photo: Amit Shabi)
Who will foot the bill?
Both Erdan and Misezhnikov hinted that the cost of the harvest project would fall to Dead Sea Works: "The plants should fund this project, since it is their industrial activity that has created the excess salt.
"According to our guidelines element responsible for the pollution to fund the cleanup," said Erdan. "The accumulated salt is de facto industrial waste and therefore they have to clean it up."
Dead Sea Works, for its part, welcomed the decision on the salt harvest, but stressed that it is only willing to fund part of the project.
The company said it would welcome "a serious dialogue with the government" on the matter. The Treasury, however, said the negotiations were stalled.
If a compromise cannot be reached, the matter is likely to find its way to arbitration.
The government is also likely to demand a larger share of Dead Sea Works' royalties: the company currently pays 5% and the government is eyes to double it to 10% - which the State Franchising law allows it to do.
The matter of Dead Sea Works' royalties vis-à-vis the State is already in arbitration.
'Preservation for posterity'
The Tourism Ministry added that is will ask the Treasury to earmark special funds for the area's development as a tourist attraction.
"This area is one of a kind – the only one of its kind in the world – but it is horribly neglected.
"There are no reasons to come down to the Dead Sea today. There's nothing to there after 9 pm," Minister Misezhnikov explained.
Erdan added that the Dead Sea was a "unique resource we must preserve for posterity."