Water wars

Water is a big part of the battle in Israel and the Occupied Territories. It's an issue elsewhere -- the Great Lakes, for example. But water will increasingly be a conflict-generating resource. Israel and Palestine provide us with a prime instance. And it is an overlooked reason for Arafat's rejection of Israeli offers during Clinton's second term.

On the eve of the evacuation of settlements from the Gaza Strip, two assumptions relating to water sources took wing among Palestinians. The first: behind Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's decision to leave the Strip lies the fact that the supply of potable water, which was consumed almost exclusively by the settlers, has dwindled. The second: once the settlers leave, the Palestinians' water problems have been solved....

The portion of the coastal aquifer that supplies water to the Strip has the potential to produce about 60 million-65 million cubic meters (CBM) annually. That is more or less the amount of water consumed by the 600,000 Gazan Palestinians in 1970, for home use and agriculture (and a little bit for industry). But with the constant growth in the population and the change in water consumption habits that is taking place everywhere, for 20 years and more there has been overpumping of the the aquifer.

At present, Palestinians pump 150 million CBM from the aquifer every year, and settlers have been pumping 4.1 million CBM annually, says hydro-geologist Ahmed al-Yaqubi, director for water sources in the Palestinian Authority Water Authority. In other words, there is a deficit of about 90 million CBM annually. The overpumping has a direct effect on the quality of the water. "And the Israelis are well aware of this," he adds.

In certain places, where the aquifer's water is located nine meters below sea level, the hydrostatic balance is disturbed, and sea water infiltrates into the aquifer. This is found within about two kilometers of the coast. As the Gaza Strip is around 10 km wide, about 20 percent of it is affected by the infiltration of seawater.

Another problem comes from sewage: About 40 percent of homes are not connected to the sewage network, and they make do with cesspools, which leak into the aquifer. Untreated sewage also infiltrates the underground water from places that are linked up to the sewage system, despite international assistance in building purification facilities. The pollution is reflected in pipes that are frequently blocked and in the pollution that accumulates in the bottom of water tanks.