An Overview of the Two Seas Canal and Its Implication

The Jordan River is a relatively small watercourse with many historic, cultural, hydrologic, ecologic and political significance. It is shared by five independent countries, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel and Palestine. During the last thirty years, most of the Jordan River was diverted for different uses which leave less than 10% of the long-term average flow into the Dead Sea. As a result, the Dead Sea surface area reduced from 1,700 km² to less than 500 km² and the level dropped more than 25 meters. To save the Dead Sea from disappearing and to produce more water available, a canal among many other solutions has been proposed to transfer water to Dead Sea from adjacent water bodies using the difference in elevation between the Dead Sea and Red Sea or the Mediterranean. This paper discusses the concept of intersea transfer and the feasibility of this approach.