Showing papers on "Water scarcity published in 1993"

Sustaining water. Population and the future of renewable water supplies.

Abstract: This report examines the effect of population size growth distribution and consumption patterns on renewable water supplies. Even though more than 66% of this planet is covered with water fresh water makes up only 2.5% of the entire water supply and 69% of that is in the polar ice caps. These figures take on even more meaning as the population increases. The rate at which the global hydrologic cycle renews or replenishes fresh water resources determines the availability of fresh water for human use. Evaporative demand and the timing and location of precipitation contribute greatly to its availability. The greatest drain on water supplies is agriculture (69% of all use) followed by industry and energy (23%) and household use (8%). Desalination of our oceans has been hailed as a technology providing an inexhaustible water supply but extracting salt from seawater is expensive and depends on nonrenewable pollution-causing fossil fuels. Acute water shortages have already plagued some countries regions and municipalities. Europe and North America could not have industrialized had it not been for dependable sources of abundant water. Yet many developing countries do not have such access making economic development more difficult for them to achieve. Countries with less than 1700 cubic meters/person less than 1000 cubic meters/person and less than 500 cubic meters/person face water stress chronic water scarcity and absolute water scarcity respectively. The number of water-scarce countries increased from 7 in 1955 to 20 in 1990 and if population growth projections continue there will be 30-35 water-scarce countries by 2025. Deteriorating water quality caused by raw sewage and industrialized and agricultural wastes further reduces the availability of fresh water and causes numerous diseases (e.g. diarrhea). Access to potable water and sanitation is needed to achieve individual health. Water will eventually overshadow oil as a scarce and precious resource. Population stabilization water conservation and more efficient use of water are the most effective long-term strategies to manage water scarcity.

The politics of water.

Abstract: Water scarcity in some regions is a leading source of economic and political instability. Upstream countries have a clear advantage over downstream countries. Almost 40% of the worlds population relies on river systems used by at least 2 countries. Water conflicts are most evident in the Middle East where population growth rates are among the worlds highest and agricultural productivity depends almost exclusively on irrigation. Water scarcity is most critical in the Jordan River basin which Israel Jordan the occupied West Bank and part of Syria share. Israel exceeds its renewable water supply by 15%. Even though Jordanians use less than 50% of the water/capita Israel uses its population grows 3.4%/year of Israels water supply is the Yarqon-Taninim aquifer whose recharge area is on the West Bank. Israel draws water from this aquifer for its own use but does not let West Bank Arabs draw from it. Another water supply lies in the Golan Heights with Israel seized from Syria. Its other source is an overpumped coastal aquifer. 9 nations claim the Nile with Egypt being the last country to receive its waters. Egypt has very few of its own water sources plus is has rapid population growth. Turkey plans on constructing 22 dams 19 hydropower stations and 25 irrigation systems on the Euphrates river resulting in a 35% reduction in water flow to Syria in normal years and even more in dry years. This project would also pollute the river with irrigation runoff. International cooperation is needed to address wait crisis. Israel could share its drip irrigation technology with others such as it has done with the Islamic Central Asian republics. Ethiopia could store Nile water in its highlands which have a lower evaporation rate than that at Egypts Aswan Dam resulting in more available water. Perhaps the mutual gains possible from cooperation will unite long standing enemies toward peace.

Analysis of Future Water Needs for Different Sectors in Syria

Abstract: Water demands for different sectors in Syria have been increasing steadily and at a high rate, and it is expected that by the year 2010 the country will face a deficit in its water balance. To define the importance and the evolution of the projected water shortage, an analysis of the future water needs for the domestic, agricultural, and industrial sectors is performed. The actual water consumption in Syria for different sectors is estimated at about 12 billion m3/yr, 90 per cent of which are consumed to irrigate about 700 x 103 ha. At the completion of the currently planned irrigation projects, which are expected to be finished by the year 2020, the irrigated areas will amount to 1350 x 103 ha, and will consume 20.5 billion m3/yr. Sixty per cent of the new areas brought under irrigation will rely on the waters of the Euphrates River and its tributary Al-Khabour Within the same period, the Syrian population will reach approximately 32 million inhabitants who will consume 3.5 billion m3/yr for dom...

Using Water Efficiently: Technological Options

Abstract: The issue of water use efficiency (WUE) is an important contributor to management strategies needed to address problems of water scarcity and costly new supplies. Increasing water use efficiency has broadened in scope from the traditional irrigation sector to industrial, domestic and environmental areas as the cost of new supplies has risen and pollution has increased. Efficiency in water use can be measured in different ways. This paper focuses on technical efficiency. Technical efficiency can be best described as water required compared to water delivered. The authors discuss the following questions: (a) what are the current levels of WUE in the irrigation and urban sectors; (b) what are the major causes of low WUE; (c) what are some of the technological and managerial measures required to improve WUE, the cost implications and the limits to increases in efficiency; (d) how should efficiency be considered from a river basin perspective; (e) is low efficiency appropriate; (f) what are the economic and environmental implications of increasing efficiency at both the project and basin levels; and (g) what are the policy changes required? The paper starts with a brief examination of sectoral water allocation in various countries and regions. It discusses and clarifies some of the definitions of water use efficiencies under various contexts, presents estimates of sectoral efficiencies in irrigation and domestic/industrial water use, and provides intensive country examples.

Burning Waters: The Hydropolitics of the Euphrates and Tigris

Abstract: The world's natural freshwater resources available for human use are more scarce than is generally assumed. This statement has already become a cliche, yet the truth it reveals is getting more apparent every day, just as is the case with other global problems which require solutions above and beyond the parochial and short term interests of individual nation states. Water scarcity has two important aspects, both with political connotations at different levels, with worldwide maldistribution of economic and natural resources being at the core of the problem.

Economic factors and opportunities as determinants of water use efficiency in agriculture

Abstract: A consequence of water scarcity is that it has enhanced research and development aimed at increasing water use efficiency in irrigated agriculture. Although biological, genetic, and technological achievements may induce potential high levels of water use efficiency, actual observed values may be much smaller. This paper distinguishes between potential and actual water use efficiency measures, and discusses factors and opportunities that may affect actual water use efficiency in irrigated agriculture. These include economic forces, environmental effects, and institutional arrangements, each of which may affect water use decisions at field, farm, regional, and national levels. The paper develops a scheme to generally address differences between private and social considerations that determine water use efficiency decisions. Using this scheme, several examples from California and Israel are provided to support the arguments. The paper concludes that the concept of water use efficiency is much broader than its definition: yield per water applied or transpired. Moreover, determination of water use efficiency levels in irrigated agriculture is a complex issue that requires interdisciplinary considerations.

The Litani River of Lebanon

Abstract: MORE forcefully than ever, politicians and analysts assert that the next casus belli in the Middle East will be control and use of water. Security of water supply is becoming at least as important as territorial security. Thus resolution of water-related issues is essential for the success of the Arab-Israeli peace process. Many Israeli policymakers view the water supply from the Litani River as a promising solution to their country's impending water crisis. However, the Litani River, whose entire basin is in Lebanon, is crucial for rebuilding and effectively integrating that country in the post-civil-war period. Specifically, the waters of the Litani are essential for agricultural and industrial development of southern Lebanon. This competition for water, a prized resource in a water-scarce region, makes the river a potential source of serious international conflict in the future and complicates the resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict. The conceptual premise of the analysis presented here is that countries suffering from resource scarcities, be they perceived or real, tend to reach beyond their borders. If access to foreign resources is obstructed or denied, countries with superior capabilities seek to establish such access by pressures that may range from peaceful interactions such as trade agreements to coercive actions involving the military (North 1977; Gurr 1985). HYDROPOLITICS OF THE MIDDLE EAST The regional context is one of potential conflict between states in the basins of the Jordan, Nile, Euphrates, and other rivers. Riparian states share a substantial percentage of their surface water resources with neighboring states. The diverse and opposing ethno-religious groups, which include Turks, Arabs, and Israeli Jews, exacerbate the situation. For example, in the late 1970s, a water pipeline from the Nile River to the barren Israeli Negev desert was proposed by Egyptian President Anwar el-Sadat. However, that gesture of peace prompted negative responses in Egypt, Israel, Ethiopia, and Sudan. In Egypt, planners asserted that the waters of the Nile would be insufficient to meet their own country's future needs. Although many Israelis were optimistic about the proposal, some officials objected because they thought it was dangerous to depend on a former enemy and untried friend for such a vital resource (Gerti 1979). Ethiopia reacted by declaring its intent to construct dams on the Blue Nile, the largest tributary of the Nile, which led Sadat to threaten military intervention (Starr 1991). Relations between the two countries were tested again in 1989, when it was rumored that Ethiopia, with Israeli aid, was building dams on the Blue Nile. The recent end of the civil war in Ethiopia and the potential settlement of the conflict in southern Sudan bode ill for Egypt, a downstream state. Political stability and rapid population growth in drought-prone upstream countries will likely result in further efforts to harness the Nile drainage to improve their agricultural and manufacturing sectors. The Euphrates River rises in Turkey and crosses both Syria and Iraq before emptying into the Persian Gulf. All three countries depend in some measure on the river for economic development, Iraq and Syria perhaps more so than Turkey, simply because the latter has significantly more alternative surface water resources. Turkey recently completed the mammoth Ataturk Dam on the Euphrates, the first in a series of seven dams on that river (Kolars and Mitchell 1991). Relations between the three riparian states deteriorated when Turkey diverted the water from the Euphrates during January 1990 to fill the massive reservoir. Consequences of that action in Syria and Iraq included power shortages, water rationing, and failed crops. In 1975 Iraq mobilized its armed forces against Syria, and war was narrowly averted, when Syria reduced the flow of the Euphrates to fill the al-Thawra Reservoir. If Turkey and Syria implement all their development plans along the Euphrates, at least fifteen billion cubic meters of water may be extracted for irrigation. …

Water for agricultural development: Opportunities and constraints

Abstract: Globally around 70% of all water used is for agricultural development Thus, if the world's food crisis is to be successfully resolved, enough water of appropriate quantity and quality will be necessary Water scarcity is already a serious issue in many arid and semi‐arid countries, and the problem is likely to intensify significantly in the future Agriculture also affects water quality in many ways The paper analyses the present’ status of the impacts of use of pesticides and nitrate fertilizers from different parts of the world

Climate and water resources

Abstract: In order to better illustrate the climatic conditions of western India, the climatic phenomena of the entire Indian subcontinent will first be described.

The politics of water scarcity in the Euphrates and Jordan river basins

Abstract: Conventional works in international relations have generally concentrated on security policy concerns by calibrating the military and economic capabilities of states in order to explain state interaction, including violent conflict. Unfortunately, environmental issues are often neglected despite an increasing body of evidence that suggests that environmental decline has important consequences for international security. Thus, this thesis attempts to rectify this apparent oversight by exploring the nature of the relationship between environmental degradation and interstate conflict. To this end, a theoretical framework is advanced suggesting that environmental decay, in the context of political and military tensions, acts as an important contributing cause of interstate conflict. An empirically based examination of the impact of diminishing water supplies on interstate relations in the Euphrates and Jordan River Basins is conducted as a means of testing the validity of the theoretical model. This thesis demonstrates that arid climatic conditions, unilateral hydrological developments, wasteful consumption patterns and rapid population growth have produced a situation where the demand for these shared waters is clearly outpacing available supply. This situation has significantly increased existing friction between Turkey, Syria and Iraq in the Euphrates River Basin and Israel (including the Occupied Territories), Jordan and Syria in the Jordan River Basin because each state views water as a crucial strategic asset and powerful political weapon with the potential to act as a destabilizing influence on the regional balance of power. The plethora of political and military tensions keenly felt between the riparian states ratchet up water related antagonisms. Thus, cooperation under conditions of water scarcity must be viewed as an improbable outcome. Indeed, the general conclusion arising from these various considerations is that increasing water scarcity, in the context of political and military tensions, helps to facilitate conflict between the states in question.

The Legal Impact of the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement on Canadian Water Exports

Abstract: In recent years, the issue of Canadian water exports has assumed a prominent position on the policy agenda of both Canada and the United States. As water supplies in several western states of the U.S.A. have been increasingly depleted over the past three decades, the threat of a water crisis has raised interest in the possibility of diverting Canadian waters, originating presumably in the Great Lakes Basin. While the beginning of the 1980s has already witnessed a number of heated debates over Great Lakes water transfers, the signing of the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement on the 2nd of January 1988, revives the polemic since it is viewed by some as a new menace to the future supply of Canadian waters. The present paper, which is divided in two parts, begins with an examination of a number of events which have raised significant concern about the prospect of major water transfers from the Great Lakes Basin, the latest being the conclusion of the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement. It then analyses the legal effects of the Agreement on Canadian water resources. This study concludes that there is nothing in the deal to suggest that Canada has in any way conceded future access to its water resources to the United States.

Environmental Health and the 1991 Bangladesh Cyclone

Abstract: A brief post-disaster study was undertaken soon after the cyclone of 1991 in Bangladesh to make a preliminary assessment of existing environmental health conditions. Eighty affected people and 26 relief personnel from the affected areas were interviewed. Faecal coliform counts, salinity conductivity and pH values were determined for 43 water samples from tubewells and ponds. The quality of 32 samples of water purifying tablets was also tested. Water scarcity was acute, especially water used for washing and personal hygiene. The situation was made worse by the fact that the surface water sources (ponds) which were commonly used for domestic purposes other than drinking were flooded, highly contaminated and regarded as unusable. The user load on existing tubewells doubled, indicating a significantly increased demand for the tubewell water which is commonly used for drinking purposes only. The majority (63 per cent) of the water purifying tablets were found to have lost potency. Sanitation was very poor in households as well as in field clinics and shelters. Most people, including relief personnel, lacked environmental health knowledge. Suggestions regarding immediate preparations for disaster relief include: restoring water systems (tubewells and ponds), training courses for relief personnel, standardizing of water purifying tablets, promoting appropriate water use and its treatment, maintaining sanitation in clinics and shelters and improving the skills and resources of local people to enable them to cope with the situation.

Regional water scarcity -- a widely neglected challenge.

Abstract: Most of the worlds population growth is taking place in developing countries. Thus it is important to address the problem of meeting the subsequent growing demand for food. Fresh water and food are required for sustaining human life. To produce food requires considerable amounts of water. Water-scarce countries have 5 obstacles: period wet and dry seasons most of the year is dry recurrent droughts erodible or impenetrable soils resulting in desiccation and low recharge of aquifers and rivers. These conditions hinder their ability to become self-reliant in food production. Developing countries need to adopt an approach to water supply problems of finding how much water moves in and out of the ground and of the atmosphere and then determine how to best benefit from it specifically an integrated approach to land and water. Decision makers must consider that forestry and land use practices affect the runoff of water. For example tree growth and crop production consume rainwater including returning water to the atmosphere via photosynthesis leaving less water to recharge aquifers and rivers. Water takes on soluble pollutants as it moves through the environment and the atmosphere. Water storage is needed in arid areas but construction of dams and reservoirs stirs conflict between human rights of local people adversely affected by construction and those of the people in drought-prone areas who would benefit from this construction. Population growth in urban areas requires bringing more water from ever more distant sources reducing the amount needed for irrigation. For example Coimbatore district in India is diverting irrigation water from the Bhavani River system to support industrial growth Further the untreated waste of growing urban populations jeopardizes the groundwater and rivers. Inadequate rural development is fueling the population explosion in urban areas. Countries need to take actions to improve rural living conditions such as job creation and land rehabilitation.

Water Management in the ’90s: A Time for Innovation

Abstract: This proceedings, \IWater Management in the ’90s: A Time for Innovation,\N contains papers presented at the 20th Anniversary conference of ASCE’s Water Resources Planning and Management Division held in Seattle, Washington, May 1-5, 1993. The conference theme is an acknowledgement of the need for water resources professionals to face major challenges in managing diminishing supplies for ever-increasing demands, in protecting valuable watersheds from urban and agricultural pollution, and in building and maintaining critical infrastructure with limited financial resources. The papers in this proceedings reflect a practical, problem-solving focus with emphasis on novel solutions for current and near future challenges. Included are papers from three symposia held as part of the conference: 1) Urban Runoff and the Environment, 2) Water Supply and Conservation, and 3) the National Drought Study. Other topics covered in this book are: 1) Computer-aided decision support systems; 2) the Endangered Species Act impact on major water systems; 3) international disasters; 4) geographic information systems; 5) global warming; and 6) hydropower planning.

Water scarcity: time for realism.

Abstract: The poorest countries in the world suffer from the worst water problems and cannot achieve development while water is scarce. At least 33% of the worlds people live in such countries. They know how to fight against water scarcity and their forebears having been doing so for many years. Unlike this fight however rapid population growth is new and brings with it an increasing food need rising stress on water and expanded land deterioration. Technology cannot increase the amount of water flowing through a country or change waters natural renewal rate. Kenya Ethiopia and Iran may witness a two-fold increase in their populations in 25 years but the amount of water does not change. Water stress and chronic water scarcity are facts of life in more and more countries including those with readily available water but whose human activities (e.g. consumption urbanization and waste disposal) deteriorate water quality. Country leaders must manage preexisting environmental conditions. A separation of the disciplines of population and water has hindered progress in solving current water problems and preventing new ones. Most countries in the relatively water abundant temperate climates of the North are based on water management systems which determine and then find the amount of water needed. In developing countries these systems are inappropriate. All countries need to consider the amount of water available and determine how best to use that amount. Countries need to minimize water loss (e.g. eliminate traditional irrigation practices) and reuse water as many times as possible. Lasting improvements in water resource management begin at the local level. International cooperation is needed to manage water systems that cross national boundaries. Leaders must realize the effects of rapid urbanization high fertility rates and changing patterns of international migration on water needs within regions countries and communities.

Adjusting the Flow: Two Comments on the Middle East Water Crisis

Abstract: Whereas almost all nations in the Middle East face a chronic problem of water shortage, the riparians of the Jordan River (mainly Israel, Jordan, and Palestine) are close to crisis. To deal with this situation, it is suggested that the emphasis in water management be shifted from supply to demand and from quantity to quality This approach emulates alternative energy analysis, dubbed the ‘soft path,’ which has demonstrated that it is typically economically cheaper and ecologically less damaging to approach problems from the demand than from the supply side. Major opportunities exist to increase efficiency of use in the Jordan River basin, particularly for irrigation, which is by far the main consumer Other opportunities lie in avoiding the degradation arising from excessive use of pesticides and fertilizers, inadequate treatment of sewage, and industrial dumping. Continuing the analogy to energy, policy analysis should be recast in terms of normative scenarios so as to determine the feasibility an...

A water scarcity or a water management crisis

Abstract: This paper suggests that we have a water management crisis rather than a water availability problem in the western United States and that, with creative policy reforms, we may obtain much more from the water we have already. It develops a methodology to assess the economics of adoption of modern irrigation technologies (drip, sprinkler), shows that adoption of these technologies may lead to yield increases and water saving, and argues that low water prices are the cause for low adoption levels. It is demonstrated that a transition from the current water rights system to water markets will increase the price of water, lead to adoption of modern irrigation technologies, and generate sufficient water reserves to accommodate the growing demand for water in the nonagricultural sectors.

A GIS Water Planning Model for an Urban and Agricultural Area

Abstract: Water demand in a region is a mosaic of urban (residential indoor and outdoor, commercial and industrial) and agricultural uses. Yet the typical approach is to aggregate urban water demand into a per capita consumption and multiply it times population growth to make projections. This method obscures the fact that 50% or more of residential water demand in the arid west is for landscape irrigation. In addition, there is substantial water use for irrigating public parks and golf courses. The Geographic Information System Water Planning Model (GIS-WPM) described in this paper has the capability to address issues related to water demand for a mix of urban and agricultural uses. The model is able to make forecasts for specific geographic areas and water use sectors, and has the flexibility to analyze a range of possible future growth paths, such as the shift of water demand from irrigation to urban users as agricultural land is developed. The model is interactive and is designed specifically to aid water agencies and managers in effectively forecasting future growth in water demand, in planning and designing water system facility improvements, and in evaluating the impacts of drought and conservation measures, and other conditions affecting water systems.

Citizen Participation in Water Supply System Planning and Management

Abstract: The Water Supply Citizens Advisory Committee (WSCAC) is a unique citizens group. Although it is funded by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA), it has a paid staff who are independent of the agency, and report only to the Committee. WSCAC was initially organized in 1978 to provide citizen oversight for a proposed large river diversion project. The committee was instrumental in demonstrating that demand management and system repair could meet the projected needs for the planning period. WSCAC presently acts in an advisory capacity to the MWRA Board of Directors and staff on water supply policy and programs. For over a decade WSCAC has provided information and advice to the public, legislators, and state agencies. The Committee has a major impact on state water policy, water management activities, and the passage of major legislation. During the past year WSCAC has participated with MWRA staff in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers National Study of Water Management During Drought. As part of this effort, WSCAC has assisted with system simulation modeling, development of system performance criteria, evaluation of alternative management strategies, and 'trigger planning.' This paper will describe the makeup and functioning of WSCAC and our role in this study.

Dying for water.

Abstract: In Danchira village in Ghana for the last 5 years women and children rise before dawn every day to fetch water from a tributary or the River Densu which is 5 miles from the village. Diminished rainfall has dried the villages 3 ponds and bore-hole where the women and children used to fetch water. To exacerbate the water problem the Ghana Water and Sewerage Corporation no longer comes to fill the huge water tank it brought to Danchira when water scarcity first occurred. The villagers could not afford to pay for the water. A 55-year-old mother of 5 Dede Aryehteye takes her morning bath at the river. When she has dirty laundry she cleans it in the river. She returns to the village around 8 am. She uses the next hour to filter the dark water 2 times with a device provided free of charge by the national Guinea Worm Eradication Programme to keep the larvae out of the water. Next she sort the water for 3 uses: drinking household use and evening bath. Dede then does other domestic chores. She would rather go to her cassava farm in the early morning when it is cool but has to fetch water instead. When she is not too tired and after finishing domestic chores she goes to the farm. Water-fetching also exhausts the children and gets them to school rather late. Children make up the majority of the 500 people living in Danchira. Water scarcity forced most of the young villagers to flee to the cities. For example Dedes 4 older children now live in Accra. The water scarcity keeps the farmers from growing maize cassava and vegetables.

Ag-To-Urban Water Transfer in California: Win-Win Solutions

Abstract: Water transfers from farms to the cities are widely viewed as the next major source of supply to urban California. Ag-to-Urban permanent water transfers may have negative consequences to the agricultural sector and to the environment. This paper presents agricultural water use statistics, discusses sources of water for transfer, and suggests sources of water for 'win-win' transfers.

Water Supply Systems Planning with Water Transfers

Abstract: This study examines the recent use of water transfers in California, particularly during the current drought. The emphasis is on how planners and operators of federal, state, and local water systems can integrate water transfers into the planning and operations of their systems. The study identifies many motivations for using water transfers in water supply systems, reviews a variety of transfer types, and discusses the integration of water transfers with traditional supply expansion and water conservation measures. Some limitations, constraints, and difficulties for employing water transfers within existing systems are also discussed. The study focuses primarily on technical, planning, and operational aspects of water transfers, rather than the legal, economic, and social implications which have received extensive attention elsewhere. More complete presentation of this work appears in Lund, et al. (1992).

Utilisation of Groundwater in Jebel el Akhdar, North-East Libya, as a Basis of Agricultural Improvement with Special Emphasis on the El Marj Plain

Abstract: The critical criteria for regional agricultural development are water and heat. The Jebel el Akhdar region has a semi-arid climate with a marked water shortage except in the winter months. In this paper estimates are made of the runoff which offsets the dry spring and summer and of the storage in the aquifers.The water level records in such regions as El Marj confirm gradual and regular lowering of the water level in the main aquifer. The associated rise of the salt water/fresh water interface is alarming. Great attention must be paid to variation of such storage reservoirs. This situation in the El Marj area is relatively stable compared with other regions of Libya, reflecting the limited demand and relative storage, particularly when water is utilised from the El Gharigh flood.The imbalance in the hydrological basin needs more care in its management and use.

Water and Power: The Johnston mission to the Middle East (1953–1956)

Abstract: In our discussion, in chapter 2, of the environment of conflict, we described the political landscape in the Jordan basin. We suggested that the roots of conflict over the waters of the river system lay in the convergence of two phenomena: (1) the fact of resource scarcity in Palestine, and (2) Zionist efforts to establish a Jewish national home in Eretz Yisrael , where there lived an indigenous Arab population. We then outlined the various efforts at land and water development in the Jordan basin from the beginning of Jewish immigration to Palestine until mid-century. We noted that immediately following the 1948–49 war, both Israel and Jordan experienced massive influxes of population. The resource bases of the two newly founded states were strained considerably. In the aftermath of the war, the concurrence of three critical factors — (1) the absolute need of both Israel and Jordan to develop land and water resources, (2) the fact of water scarcity in the basin relative to needs, and (3) adversarial relations among the riparian states — extended the scope of the Arab—Jewish conflict and crystallized what was to become a central issue in the Jordan waters dispute: on what basis should the waters of the Jordan system be shared? How much water should go to each side, and according to what principle? In this chapter, we focus on the first, and perhaps, most important episode of riparian dispute in the Jordan basin in the post-1949 period: the United States-sponsored Johnston mission to the Middle East.

California Water Issues—Bay-Delta Hearings—Impacts on State Water Project

Abstract: The State Water Resources Control Board's impending Decision 1630 is described along with its potentially substantial impacts on California's water supplies. Department of Water Resources operation studies indicate that the Decision would reallocate about 900 TAF/year from existing uses to Bay-Delta environmental uses. Given that the State Water Project can only meet current demands 40 percent of the time, future shortages will be more frequent and more severe.