Environmental impacts of the mega desalination project: the Red–Dead Sea conveyor

The Dead Sea is the lowest point on the earth. Historically, its level was 392 m below sea level. Due to the diversion of the water that is feeding the sea from the north and to the construction of industrial facilities in the south to extract minerals, the Dead Sea level nowadays has been lowered to 417 m. Furthermore, the surface area of the sea has been reduced from 940 km2 in 1960s to 637 km2 today.In an attempt to restore the Dead Sea to its original level, and to find a reliable source of fresh water in the region which suffers from chronic water scarcity, the Red Dead Sea conveyor (RDSC) project has been proposed. RDSC would convey seawater from the Red Sea (Gulf of Aqaba) to the Dead Sea to save it from vanishing, and to produce desalinated water and hydroelectric power by utilizing the difference in elevations between the Red and Dead seas.The proposed project is expected to have great impact on the regional socio-economic development. However, many questions need to be answered before proceeding with such a mega project. Some of the answers needed are related to the environmental impacts of the project. The present paper is an attempt to address the major environmental impacts associated with the implementation of the RDSC project. Both positive and negative impacts were considered in the analysis.The analysis revealed that brine reject is the main adverse environmental problem. The amount of brine has been estimated to be 1050 MCM/y. In addition to salt content, the reject brine contains several chemical additives, chemical cleaning solutions and pretreatment chemicals that are discharged with the brine. Another significant adverse impact that is identified is the impact on the fragile marine environment of the Gulf of Aqaba. The semi enclosed nature of this marine environment, which encourages its unique biological diversity, also makes it particularly susceptible to pollution. Therefore, measures that should be taken during the construction and operation of the project to protect the marine environment were recommended.