Revision as of 15:52, 25 June 2014

The Coastal Aquifer's northern bounds is in the Carmel range and it extends to the Sinai Peninsula. Only the southern most portion of the aquifer extends to Gaza. ^[1]The supply of fresh water to the population of Gaza is almost totally reliant on the Coastal Aquifer.

Restoring the Aquifer

The costal aquifer is depleted as a result of disequilibrium between the total water abstraction and its renewable amount, where the water level has been declining during the last few years to about 10-15 m below sea level.^[2] One of the stakeholders working in Gaza put it as follows: “Gazans know that they are destroying the aquifer but they do not have any other options hence they are looking at desalination plants to minimize the abstractions from the aquifer.” Apart from the fact that the Gaza Coastal Aquifer receives insufficient rainwater quantities for recharge, Israeli water policies have aimed at further reducing the aquifer’s renewable yield through the impediment of surface and groundwater^[3] On one hand, Israel diverted around 20 MCM/ year of surface water from Wadi Ghaza to agricultural fields in Israel before its arrival in Gaza (westwards)^[3]. On the other hand, the natural groundwater flow from Israel to the Coastal Aquifer (eastwards) has been reduced through the drilling of a number of deep wells along the Israel-Gaza border.^[3] The degree to which such flows might have contributed historically to the recharge of the Gaza groundwater system may be contemplated.^[4] It is noted that even if Wadi Gaza were to flow on downstream into Gaza in the future, only limited quantities of such flows could be captured and utilized, and these would be available during the wet season, when the demand is lower in any event.^[4]

Seawater Intrusion

Groundwater depletion in the Coastal aquifer has two negative impacts: (a) seawater invasion of large parts of the inland aquifer and (b) upward leakage of the underneath saline water. As a result of that depletion, the groundwater salinity has been increasing significantly to an unacceptable level, where 95% of the pumped water exceeds World Health Organization (WHO) drinking limit (250 mg/l) in terms of chloride concentration. While around 70% of the urban area is served by wastewater collection system, many people are still using cesspits or septic tanks for dumping their raw wastewater. Hence a huge amount of untreated wastewater leaks through the unsaturated sandy zone each day causing the groundwater pollution. As recorded, groundwater pollution by nitrates is already widespread in Gaza and the majority of the wells utilized for domestic water contain more nitrates than the WHO-recommended drinking limit (50 mg/l). This percentage is still growing with higher concentrations under urban areas.^[2]

Case Studies linked to Coastal Aquifer (Israel, Palestine)

• Gaza Strip Water Management

Articles linked to Coastal Aquifer (Israel, Palestine)

External Links

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1. ^ Weinberger, G. et al. 2012. The Natural Water Resources between the Meditteranean Sea and the Jordan River. Israel Hydrologic Service. Jerusalem. online: http://www.water.gov.il/Hebrew/ProfessionalInfoAndData/Data-Hidrologeime/DocLib4/water_report-MEDITERRANEAN-SEA-AND-THE-JORDAN.pdf
2. ^ ^{2.0 2.1} Palestinian Water Authority. (March 2014). Gaza Strip: No Clean Drinking Water, No Enough Energy, and Threatened Future. Gaza, occupied Palestinian territory.
3. ^ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} anonymous, personal communication with Christine Buesser, April 24, 2014.
4. ^ ^{4.0 4.1} Palestinian National Authority & Palestinian Water Authority, The Gaza Emergency Technical Assistance Programme on Water Supply to the Gaza Strip: the updated final report [Report 7 of the CSO-G] of The Comparative Study of Options for an Additional Supply of Water for the Gaza Strip (CSO-G) (2011, July 31).