The Waters of Jordan

In the holy city of Jerusalem last week, Palestine's destructive factions were considering at least one purely constructive project: a Jordan Valley Authority. The plan had been carefully worked out by leading U.S. authorities on irrigation and hydroelectric power. Zionists saw it as a way to make desolate Palestine the populous, fertile country it was in Bible times.

The Holy Land, about the size of Vermont, is a rundown, beaten-up Southern California. It has a similar climate, with winter rains and summer drought, but it may have better soil. Almost any crop, from barley to bananas, will thrive in Palestine if given proper irrigation.

Chief geographical feature, and chief hope of Palestine, is the extraordinary Jordan Valley, a deep "rift" which formed when a block of the earth's crust dropped several thousand feet. The lowest part, at the south, is filled by the Dead Sea, whose surface is 1,290 feet below the surface of the Mediterranean. The plentiful run-off from the Lebanon Mountains flows into the northern end of the rift near Lake Tiberias (the Biblical Sea of Galilee), then south through the Jordan River, and is finally lost in the Dead Sea's heavy brine.

An obvious way to use this water would be to divert it above sea level, north of Lake Tiberias. But this would sacrifice the power which the water would generate if allowed to fall into the deep Jordan rift. Besides, the Dead Sea, cut off from its water supply, would shrink or dry up; Palestine's planners do not want that. They proposed to solve the problem by an engineering stunt impossible anywhere else in the world.

A great canal will carry most of the Jordan-bound water to thirsty lands in the famous Plain of Esdraelon, and along the Mediterranean coast. The rest will irrigate the narrow, hot Jordan valley. But the Jordan itself will not go wholly dry, as it did when Joshua commanded the Israelites in the attack on unfortunate Jericho.

To replace the diminished Jordan, JVA will feed the Dead Sea with a river of sea water sucked out of the Mediterranean. Raised 140 feet by pumps near Haifa, it will pass through the low divide in a tunnel or a deep open cut. When it reaches the Jordan rift, it will plunge 900 feet to a power plant, then will drop 300 feet to another. The briny river's flow will be limited to about 1,000 cubic feet per second, to match evaporation from the Dead Sea. But its drop will be so great that it will generate 560,000,000 kilowatt hours per year. (TVA total: 10 billion KWH.)

The whole system, including numerous smaller dams and power plants, will cost about $250,000.000, and will add about 700,000 acres to the irrigated land of Palestine, making room for two million new settlers. JVA's sponsors declare that their projects will make the Holy Land as prosperous and productive as it was in the lifetime of Jesus.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.