THE STRUGGLE FOR JORDAN WATERS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP84-00825R000100250001-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 14
• Document Creation Date: November 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 4, 2000
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: May 1, 1952
• Content Type: IM

Approved For Release 2000/05/31 : CIA-RDP84-00825R000100250001-8
CONFIDENTIAL
Copy No. 180
GEOGRAPHIC
INTELLIGENCE
MEMORANDUM
CIA/RR GM 62-5
May 1962
THE STRUGGLE FOR JORDAN WATERS
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND REPORTS
WARNING
This material contains information affecting the National Defense of the United States within
the meaning of the espionage laws, Title 18, USC, Secs. 793 and 794, the transmission or
revelation of which in any manner to an unauthorized person is prohibited by law.
CONFIDENTIAL
Approved For Release 2000/05/31 : CIA-RDP84-00825R000100250001-8
 CONFIDENTIAL nn
THE STRUGGLE FOR JORDAN WATER Proved For Release 2000/05/31 : CIA-RDP84-00825R000100250001-8
The first segment of the Israeli National Water Conduit, which will extend from
the upper Jordan Valley to the Negev Desert in the South, is scheduled to receive
water pumped from Lake Tiberias in late 1963? Progress on the construction of major
features of the conduit appears to justify Israeli confidence that the schedule will
be met. With the completion of this segment, Jordan water will, for the first time,
be transported beyond the limits of the Jordan Valley. The Arab states are firm in
their stand that no compromise permitting Israel to divert water from the Jordan
Valley can be reached, and they have loudly but ineffectively promoted retaliatory
threats to deprive Israel of water by diverting major tributaries of the upper Jor-
dan. South of Cake Tiberias on the lower Jordan River, Israel and Jordan are pro-
ceeding with less friction in the development of their respective irrigation projects.
I. The Master Plan of Israel
The core of Israel's plan for the development of water resources is the National
Water Conduit -- a system of canals, tunnels, pumping stations, reservoirs, and
pipelines to transport water overland from the Jordan Valley to southern Israel.
This major artery will be linked to regional projects so that available water can
be diverted to those areas where the need is greatest. Near Rosh Ha'ayin in central
Israel the National Water Conduit will connect with pipelines of the Yarkon-Negev
Project, which will carry water as far south as Beersheba in the northern Negev. A1-
though water from the Jordan River is a critical element in the water plans of Israel
and will eventually supply 30 percent of its water needs, the plans also rely heavily
on the combined resources of ground water, sewerage, surface runoff, and water re-
turned from irrigation.
The Belt Shean Project, designed to irrigate the Jordan and Beit Shean Valleys
south of Lake Tiberias, is not connected with the National Water Conduit. Here,
water drawn directly from Cake Tiberias fs to replace that now being pumped from
the Yarmouk and Jordan Rivers. It is anticipated that the Beit Shean Project will
benefit from plans being considered for the diversion to the lower Jordan of water
from saline springs now emptying into lake Tiberias and from the pumping of Yarmouk
waters into Labe Tiberias during the winter flood season.
Israel originally planned to tap the Jordan River near the Banat Jacub Bridge
in the Demilitarized Zone north of Lake Tiberias. The water thus withdrawn was to
be used to power a hydroelectric plant at Tabigha on the northwestern shore of Cake
Tiberias. In 1953, a clash with Syria occurred when Israel was at work on the sec-
tion of the canal within the Demilitarised Zone. Work was stopped after the issue
was raised in the Security Council of the United Nations, and the 1.5 miles of canal
within the Demilitarized Zone have never been completed. The present plan is to
draw water for the National Water Conduit from Cake Tiberias, rather than the upper
Jordan, by means of the pumping station at Tabigha. When, as Israel hopes, water
becomes available from the upper Jordan River, the Tabigha pumping station will be
converted into the hydroelectric plant originally planned.
When Stage I of Israel's plan is completed in late 1963, water from Cake Tiberias
will be delivered to the area of Rosh Ha'ayin east of Tel Aviv by means of Ito miles
of 108-inch concrete pipe, 3.4 miles of 108-inch steel pipe, 25 miles of open canal,
and 6.7 miles of large-diameter tunnel. By 1964, Israel plans to pump about 160
million cubic meters (cu m) of water per year from Lake Tiberias; according to an
Israeli engineer the capacity of the pumps at Tablgha is 200 million cu m per year.
Stage II, tentatively planned for 1966, provides for a general increase in volume of
water pumped and in storage and distribution facilities. By 1970, when all three
stages of the plan have been completed, Israel expects to draw 320 million no m of
water from the Jordan River for the National Water Conduit, 100 million cu m for
irrigation in the Hula area, and 50 million cu m for the Beit Shean Project, making
a total of 470 million cu m per year withdrawn from the Jordan. Israeli estimates
place the average annual flow of the Jordan within Israel at about 500 million cu m
per year with extremes of 350 million cu m and 700 million cu m.
II. Problems Arising in Israel
The ultimate success of Israeli water plans is closely associated with the cli-
matic regime of the eastern Mediterranean -- an unreliable element at best. There
can be little assurance that climatic and byydrological conditions upon which plan-
ning bas been based will remain unchanged in the coming years. Heavy pumping and a
series of abnormally dry years have already brought about an unanticipated lowering
of the water table on the coastal plain east of Tel Aviv. In the face of this
threatened water shortage, a temporary steel pipeline has been placed in service
between a completed portion of the 108-inch pipeline and Rosh Ra'ayfn Springs.
Through this temporary pipeline, surplus water from the Benyamina-Pardes area midway
between Tel Aviv and Haifa is carried south to supplement the flow of Rosh Ha'ayin
Springs. It is estimated that even after several years of plentiful rainfall,
however, these springs will provide only 120 million cu m of water per year whereas
the sustained withdrawal during the late 1950s amounted to 180-200 m111ion cu m
per year.
The head of the Research Unit of the Mekoroth Water Company, Ltd., which is the
contractor for the water plan of Israel, has charged that a serious miscalculation
has been made concerning the total volume of water that will be available from the
Jordan River for the National Water Conduit, and others have asserted that with-
drawal of large volumes of water will lower the level of Cake Tiberias significantly.
Both charges have serious economic implications, and both have been firmly denied by
the Director General of Water Planning for Israel. Nevertheless, projected water
requirements for 1969 are 22 million cu m more than the anticipated supply from all
sources. Although this shortage is not considered critical in view of the long-term
nature of the estimate, it is indicative of the delicate balance of water in Israel.
III. The Yarmouk River Project of Jordan
In June 1961 the Harza Engineering Company International presented the Jordanian
East Thor Canal Authority with plans for the Yarmouk-Jordan Valley Development Proj-
ect, which places primary dependence upon the waters of the Yarmouk River -- Jordan's
major water resource. This proposal for irrigation in the Jordan Valley and for
power generation in the Ysrmouk Valley is based on five stages, proposed for com-
pletion in 1979. By this date 119,000 acres of the Jordan Valley are to be irrigated
and a power-generating capacity of 42,700 he is to be provided. Under terms of the
1953 Yarmouk River Treaty, Syria will receive a minimum of 10 percent of this energy.
Stages I and II of the project have been included in the Jordanian five Year
Program for Economic Development (1962-67). Stage I, which is being supported by
the U.S. Aid Mission to Jordan, consists of a 3,214-foot tunnel and 43 miles of open
canal on the East Thor, extending south as far as Wadi Zarga. This work was actu-
ally begun in 1958 and has now been completed to Kilometer 22.8, a distance of 14.1
miles. The remaining stages call for a 25-mile extension of the East Thor Canal and
the construction of a 28-mile canal on the West Thor that will be linked with the
East Ghor Canal near Wadi Zarqa. A diversion dam on the Yarmouk at Adasiya and a
storage dam on the Yarmouk at Wadi ICnalidare features of Stage II. At a later date
the height of the Wadi Khalid Dam is to be increased, and a storage dam is to be con-
structed on the Yarmouk at Magarin. Powerplants are to be installed below Wadi
Kha11d, at the Wadi Ib]alid Dam, and at the Maqarin Dam. When completed the storage
dams at Wadi Ihalid and Magarin will provide 250 and 300 million cu m of water,
respectively.
When the Yarmouk-Jordan Valley Development Project is implemented, it will re-
quire more water than is available from the average annual flow of the Yarmouk River,
which amounts to 467 million Cu m, and from the storage capacity provided by the Wadi
IG3a11d and Magarin dams. It is anticipated that much of this deficit can be made up
through the construction of storage dams on wadis emptying into the Ghor in Jordanian-
controlled territory. The original plan for the Yarmouk-Jordan Valley Project, pre-
pared by Michael Baker, Jr. and Harza Engineering Company in 1953, called for initial
use of the waters of take Tiberias. Under the present plan, water from sources not
completely under Jordanian control will be needed only in the final stages of develop-
ment and then only if all land presently considered irrigable is used.
Israel has complained about the anticipated reduction in the flow of the Yarmouk
River and increase in salinization of the Jordan River below Cake Tiberias that will
result from diversion of Yarmouk River water by Jordan. The present flow of sweet
water from the Yarmouk permits Israel to irrigate lands in the Jordan and Bait Shean
Valleys, using water pumped directly from the Yarmouk and Jordan Rivers -- water
that, under the Bait Shean Project, will have to be replaced by water from Cake
Tiberias.
IV. Arab Diversion Threats
Three tributaries flowing from Arab territory contribute 572 million cu m of
water per year to the Jordan River in Northern Israel. The Dan River, the largest
tributary, has an average flow of 258 million cu m per year. Because the Dan rises
on the Syrian-Israeli border, its use could not effectively be denied to Israel.
The Nasbani River flowing from Lebanon and the Banias River rising in Syria each
contribute 157 million Cu m per year. Denial of Hasbani and Banias water could re-
duce the flow of the Jordan River north of Banat Jacub Bridge by about one-half.
States of the Arab Bloc have held extended discussions over proposals to divert
these headwaters and several plans have been set forth. To date, no real attack
has been made on the engineering problems involved or on sources of funds for these
retaliatory ventures.
CONFIDENTIAL
U. A
_(EGI
PipellnezR(prop
WATR
'a -a ~, ~~+ B A N
DUJIT L -
HULA DRAINAGE PROJECT
Complete 60000d numz(15.000 ) /P5,?ay
of land added bye einage
SHEAN PROJECT
IOU SALEM
5E10 SREI
SAT (SC
ORIOGE'
Prop d Ad Y Div Dam.
56 Gh Can pl to to el I
I r 22.8 (M 14 I) ' y~
C
)l
Zo~ pens\
D ed Y
onrplecion 1969. at-
d
47 (Mile 29.1)
Megarie Dam
Pl one E
JORDAN VALLEY WATERS
WATER CONDUITS
Completed
_--_ Scheduled
Proposed
Q Operating pond Tunnel
^ Pumping station ? -~ Podwaetrplent and
]O 1515 20 25 Kllonienere
CONFIDENTIAL
From a pent east of Hadene to
2.5 miles north of Rosh Ha'apn
user Ic omplete (approx.
20miles.) t
Eilabun (TSalman) Opener'ng Pond end Pump g Poet)""
both Under tonO,rt[mn To b$Tonhleeed in
Eilabun Tame,. excavated and l% lined
To be completed in 1962. 0,701' 15mg. _
Canal m be t,ntmued eh rough lnnnel.
T, be bred in 1960 12,, lee
aeo Newra Reservoir: to%complete.
To be mmple[ed in 19fi3. ..
long.
lieing planned for 1963jeaTu be 5 246'lo a
Os" p pend from EI KanduS m ,e dace.
Menashe Tunnels n
To be completed 1963 s[Well be last of
05" lie, a
Menashe Tunnels: 45% lined. Norcherneunnel
20.935' long. Southern tunnel 1,312' see'
being lined, May 1961.
Temporary 24" eOel pipeline: 2.5 miles Ian
In operation between end of 108"
'
pipe in, and RueS Heeyun.
36162 4-02
One proposal would divert the Banias southward for a short distance to an area
in which the water could be used for irrigation of Syrian territory. An extension
of the plan would transport Banias water southward all the way to the Yarmouk
River. Because the Banias flows through Syria for only about 5 miles, a reservoir
would be required near the Israeli border. Before reaching the Yarmouk the water
would have to be lifted several hundred meters said would then flow through a canal
more than 34 miles in length. ced for
the
sbami wate sot ougsh avtunnel into the basin ofAthe Litani Riverne The secondr auuld ani
divert Basbani water into a reservoir on the Banias River for transport to the
south. Engineering data are lacking for both proposals.
Any scheme to divert the tributaries of the Jordan from their natural watershed
would be costly and would provide scant economic return to Arab nations, even Jor-
dan. Lebanon, already heavily committed in the Litani River Project, and Syria,
whose hope for irrigation lies in a dam on the Euphrates River, will be hard pressed
to find funds for the diversion of the Jordan River. In Arab deliberations over
iivcr sbarai ttivessare likely tottakeers over neconomic considerationsr, political mo-
108" steel pipe. Lif[lapproxi-merely 8Sf.
3 pumps et 0 65 )ubie meters per sec tapatity eaeh.
Takes 70,000 be f ,e nasianal grid.
Installation sched ~ed for tom pletion lace 1962.
Approved For Release 2000/05/31 : CIA-RDP84-00825R000100250001-8
V. Prospects
The Yarmouk is Jordan's onLy major hope for irrigation water and power gener-
ation. Implementation of the Yarmouk-Jordan Valley Development Project will in-
crease the industrial potential of Jordan, nearly double the area of its irrigated
agricultural land, and provide land for more than 12,000 farm families. For bradl
the River Jordan is the last major untapped water resource. Based upon present
water consumption patterns, completion of Stage I of Israel's plan in 1963 will
provide for a population increase of approximately 300,000 people. If the full
project is completed in 1969, an increase of 560,000 could be accommodated, includ-
ing 480,000 industrial workers. This is far short of the projected population in-
crease of 2 million discussed optimistically in Israel and fearfully in Arab states.
In view of its high dependence upon the water of lake Tiberias, Israel is likely to
exercise precaution to maintain a high water level and a low degree of salinity in
the lake. As a working reality, many features of the present plans for development
of the water resources of the Jordan Valley could be accomplished through the use
of the water of the Jordan River by Israel and the use of the water of the Yarmouk
River by Jordan. Nevertheless the chronic Arab protest against the use of Jordan
River water outside the Jordan Valley remains unaltered.
CONFIDENTIAL
 Approved For Release 2000/05/31 : CIA-RDP84-00825R000100250001-8
CONFIDENTIAL
Approved For Release 2000/05/31 : CIA-RDP84-00825R000100250001-8
 Approved For ReKme 2000/05/31 : CIA-RDP84-008 5R000100250001-8
DISTRIBUTION LIST
TITLE OF REPORT
DATE
REPORT NO.
GM 62-5
PROJECT NO.
CLASSIFICATION
CONTROL
NAME OF REQUESTER
NAME OF ANALYST
BRANCH
GRAPHICS
COPY NO.
RECIPIENT
DATE SENT
83
GG/N
23May62
94
STATINTL
85
STATINTL
9 Jan63
178
1L.Jan64
179
INR/State (Interna.Water for Peace)
24Feb66
180
STATINTL
303
D/GG File
304
St/P/G - Editors STATINTL
305
Circulated in Division and ret.
306
GG/N
322
 Approved For Ruse 2000/05/31 :CIA-RDP84-OR000100250001-8
r, !'or W-:port Noa C- L/Y) (n , -
62
Approved For Release 2000/05/31 : CIA-RDP84-00825R000100250001-8
 Approved For Release 2000/05/31 : CIA-RDP84-00 5R0001-Q250001-8
on the course of GO/N's discussions with ONE. on questions
regarding the Israeli water problem, it was decided that progress in the last
six months on the Jordan project does not warrant updating at this time o, tbs
1 on ;Israel water. A _9tyt t -ce w
be appropriate in the early Fa1i.
25X1A
.z.-1~--tti -G--a r /- t.-1. M
Approved For Release 2000/05/31 : CIA-RDP84-00825R000100250001-8
 Approved For Reese se 2000/05/31 :CIA-RDP84-00?,5R000100250001-8
STATINTL
TRANSMITTAL SLIP
ROOM NO.
4 r h
and a carbon copy dt for ON 62.5,,
gncloaed are the photolith tere
REMARKS:
Ye for Jordan Waters , which
'in be aeeembled in 1)/ac and sent to
eproduction by that Division, When
ROOM NO.
3 E 70B
HQ
6
Approved For Release 2000/05/31 : CIA-RDP84-00825R000100250001-8
 Approved For Releasek60i0 T'C~-I P84-00825R000100250001-8
-Ahex tr^*.; o,. E?s'.:: s m gifts
Rev1e -d :,; uDr cwad b
Z-9-
Ly
D-4-finch Chief
Sft,9.1 ~aeYy.. .{''..w~Q'J 0
Division ' .::.f
DaV~ Ir.struct1o is to
'For
4&,t X or M?ltil, h
For 1)i tto
0VV. Bu
Other
r$ia.~~`}/a3. y E& ~oria1 Approval
j,R.'J.of Repro 1w~t'< 1 or.- 4dcb.i~,:.
AL1
0 E,
Approved For Release 2000/05/31 CIA-RDP84-00825R000100250001-8
 fi
Approved For Rase 2000/05/31 : CIA-RDP84-Oa25R000100250001-8
C ?-I-D E-N T-I-A.L
CE 1F AL INTELL1UENCE AGENCY
Geography Division., ORR
Project Initiation Memorandum
Project No. 62.1992
28 1rch 1962
1. Subject of Proposed Project : Israeli-Jordanian water play.
Statement of Probate: To analyze Israel's National Pipeline and
Jordan's Yam-Jordan V ellkiy D velopeer t Project as they proceed
towards open competition for water of the Jordan River valley. A
Geographic Intelligence M is randum (GM 60-3) was produced in 1957
and a Geographic Support Project (GP 6O-16sL) for the Department
of State (Sanger) in 1.96D. In 1961 tea looked into the situation and
decided it did not warrant a redo. Noon, progress hats been made,
shootings have occurred, a DD/P/NE has asked for a rundown on the
situation. (See attached outli ns. )
3. R ueeters DD/P
25X1A
4. R ponsible Anaalyst, anch: GG/N. 25X1 A
5. Kind and Extend of Cooperation Desired Froffio.
a. Other Divisions of tho 0 Area: D/R) to prepare one map.
b. Other Parts of CIA: Possibly OCR/t}R,
c. Outside CIA: Alm, States, ACSI, Ar' g? Document Library.
6. Est ted Nanhoum in D/GG: 80
Probable Completion Date: GC,/W to complete about 9 April 1962]
publication approAmmately twro weeks later. - For of Final Publication: CIA./RR GM --
Rec:r ndations for Distribution of Finished Re : Standard
for the GM, vA th 10 copies located for__________________ 25X1 A
25X1A 25X1A
OR,
25X1A r
t rove or eease 2000/05/31: CIA- l- 84-00825R000100250001-8
 Approved For Rase 2000/05/31 : CIA-RDP84-0Q5R000100250001-8
C-0