By Friends of the Earth Middle East
Humans have been responsible for activities that have led to the drying up of the Dead Sea for over half a century, and the Sea has had enough. Some say the time has come for the Dead Sea to take its revenge against the people who have abused it, referring mostly to the holes that have been appearing in the ground surrounding the salt water body.
While this is only one of several phenomena associated with the constantly receding water level at the Dead Sea, it may be most significant in terms of its effect on continued human activity in the area. Few sinkholes were observed before 1980, but since then they have spread throughout the entire area, although far more noticeably in the south.
Sinkholes are holes appearing in the ground that can be as large as 25m in diameter and 20m in depth. They are created gradually through a mechanism of underground salt dissolution. The significant drop in the lake's water level is matched by a parallel groundwater level drop, which results in an increasing intensity of water flow. The diagonal interface between the salty water of the Dead Sea and the less saline groundwater is pushed downwards and eastwards. The imbalance of the hydrological system exposes the salt stratum to unsaturated groundwater i.e. the water dissolves the salt and spaces are created in this layer. The salt layers have a geo-technical capacity of creating and preserving spaces. Eventually the upper layer (the ceiling) of the hole collapses.
The authorities refer to the sinkholes as impending catastrophes; there is no way of predicting where and when a sinkhole might appear. In 2001 a large sinkhole emerged on the main road in Ein Gidi only seconds after a bus full of tourist drove by. It was 20m deep and its bottom diameter was 30m. That time they were lucky.
The Jordan Valley Authority has so far compensated the owners of 30 units of agricultural lands in the Safi region whose lands have collapsed due to sinkholes this year.
At this moment in time experts cannot point to any site along the Dead Sea shores and claim with any certainty that it is safe with no potential for the appearance of sinkholes on its surface.
Perhaps the danger and hindrance presented by the sinkholes phenomena could serve as a catalyst for the re–evaluation of policies in this region. The mere shrinkage of the Dead Sea has not stirred official bodies much, but perhaps this potential disaster and the lack of any planning and development activities will bring about more government initiative and policy making.
