Jordan River
Jordan River Facts
Contents
The Jordan River flows between five particularly contentious riparians, two of which rely on the river as the primary water supply.[1]
Steam Flow:
The Jordan River originates from three spring-fed streams:[2]
- 1. The Hasbani/Nahal Senir [Arabic/Hebrew] which begins in Syria and winds through Lebanon as it flows into Israel
- 2. The Banyas/Nahal Hermon, which begins in the Israeli occupied Golan Heights (previously Syrian, captured by Israel in the 1967 War)
- 3. The Dan/Nahal Liddani, which originates in Israel
These three streams converge in Israel and form the Upper Jordan River, which flows into Lake Tiberias/The Kinneret [hereafter: “Lake Tiberias”]. The Upper Jordan River contributes about 660 MCM/yr to Lake Tiberias, and local runoff contributes another 130 MCM/yr.[3] Lake Tiberias stores approximately 4,000 MCM, which is estimated to be approximately 8 times its annual outflow.[4] Approximately 500 MCM/yr flows out of Lake Tiberias into the Lower Jordan, which converges with the Yarmouk River after 10 km.[5]
The Yarmouk River originates in catchments in Syria and flows along the boundary between Syria and Jordan before becoming the border between Israel and Jordan. When the Yarmouk River converges with the Lower Jordan, it contributes and estimated 40% of the total combined flow.[6]
The Lower Jordan River flows along the northwestern border of Jordan, forming the border first with Israel and then with the Palestinian West Bank. Finally, the river empties into the Dead Sea, a highly saline body of water with no natural outlet.
Human Uses:
Much of Jordan’s agricultural and municipal water supply comes from the King Abdullah Canal (KAC), built in 1961 and previously known as the East Ghor Canal. The KAC collects water from an intake on the Yarmouk River and from the Israeli-Jordan transfer conduit and then runs through the Jordan Valley, carrying water for irrigation and providing much of the municipal supply of the capital, Amman.[7]
Israel’s National Water Carrier (NWC) is a system of canals and pipes completed in 1964 that runs from Lake Tiberias to the Negev Desert in the south. Along the way, the NWC collects water from springs and aquifers and feeds agricultural and urban supply systems.[8]
Residents of the Palestinian West Bank are currently not allowed to access the Jordan River.
Case Studies linked to Jordan River
- Case Study of Transboundary Dispute Resolution: Multilateral Working Group on Water Resources (Middle East)
- Integrated Management and Negotiations for Equitable Allocation of Flow of the Jordan River Among Riparian States
- The Role of the Red Sea-Dead Sea Water Conveyance Project for Regional Cooperation in the Jordan River Basin
Articles linked to Jordan River
| Riparians | Water Features |
|---|---|
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Located in this basin- Israel
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| Projects and Initiatives | Agreements and Treaties |
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External Links
- Transboundary Freshwater Dispute Database (TFDD) (2012). Oregon State University. Jordan River Basin Case Study — The Transboundary Freshwater Dispute Database (TFDD) is a database intended for use in aiding the process of water conflict prevention and resolution. We have developed this database, a project of the Oregon State University Department of Geosciences, in collaboration with the Northwest Alliance for Computational Science and Engineering.
| Riparian | Population in Basin | Area within Basin in sq. km | Irrigated Lands within Basin in sq km | Average Discharge in cubic m per second |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Israel | 0.342 million341,900 people | 9,100 km²3,513.53 mi² | 1,000 km²386.102 mi² | 95 m³/s3,354.893 cfs 2.998 km³/y |
| Egypt | 4.0e-5 million40 people | 174 km²67.182 mi² | 0 km²0 mi² | |
| Lebanon | 0.0823 million82,300 people | 716 km²276.449 mi² | 20 km²7.722 mi² | 0 m³/s0 cfs 0 km³/y |
| Syria | 0.918 million917,700 people | 4,535 km²1,750.973 mi² | 600 km²231.661 mi² | 0 m³/s0 cfs 0 km³/y |
| Jordan | 6.445 million6,445,000 people | 19,395 km²7,488.451 mi² | 1,200 km²463.323 mi² | 316.9 m³/s11,191.218 cfs 10 km³/y |
| Palestinian Territories | 3,200 km²1,235.527 mi² |
- ^ Product of the Transboundary Freshwater Dispute Database, Department of Geosciences, Oregon State University. Additional information about the TFDD can be found at: http://www.transboundarywaters.orst.edu/research/case_studies/Jordan_New.htm
- ^ Karen Hudes, Shared Water Resources in the Jordan River Basin, 1 Gonz. J. Int'l L. (1997-98), available at http://www.across-borders.com.
- ^ Ibid, 2.
- ^ Ibid, 2.
- ^ Jägerskog, Anders. 2003. Why states cooperate over shared water: The water negotiations in the Jordan River basin. Linköping University. Ph.D. dissertation. Available at: http://www.transboundarywaters.orst.edu/publications/abst_docs/related_research/jagerskog2003_abstract.htm.
- ^ Hudes, 2.
- ^ William Alkhoury, Markus Ziegmann, Fritz H. Frimmel, Gudrun Abbt-Braun & Elias Salameh (2010): Water quality of the King Abdullah Canal/Jordan–impact on eutrophication and water disinfection, Toxicological & Environmental Chemistry, 92:5, 855-877.
- ^ Nathan Cohen, "Israel's National Water Carrier", Present Environment and Sustainable Development, NR. 2, 2008. Available at: pesd.ro/articole/nr.2/2.%20Cohen_PESD_2008.pdf
