Water shortage is a serious problem facing the Hebron District, not only due to the arid and semi-arid climatic conditions and rainfall variability in the area, but also due to the Israeli strict control over the Palestinian water resources. The &Taba Agreement & which signed on September 28, 1995, contains an undertaking on the part of Israel to increase the amount of water allocated to Palestinians by 28.6 mcm/year. Any further addition to either side will be based on an increase in the available water resources to be developed through international funding and channels. The agreement provides for the establishment of a Joint Water Committee that will manage water resources and enforce water policies, protecting the interests of both parties by the prevention of uncontrolled drilling by enforcing standards. The agreement provides Hebron and Bethlehem Districts with one million cm/year from the above mentioned quantity (Documents of Taba Agreement 1995).
Hebron is located on the crest of the anticline structure extending from Beer Sheva' area in the south to Jerusalem area in the north forming the Hebron mountain series. There are two main aquifer systems in the district:
This system feeds the Herodion and Jerusalem boreholes and the springs in the Dead Sea area. The geologic formations of this aquifer system are Lower & Upper Beit Kahil (Rofe & Raffety, 1963) and are mainly composed of Dolomite, Limestone, Marly and Chalky Limestone.
This system feeds Al-'Aroub, Sa'ir and Dirwa springs, as well as other springs in the area. It also feeds Al-Fawwar, Beit Fajjar, Samu', and Rihiya well fields. This aquifer system is mainly composed of Limestone, Chalky Limestone, and Dolomite.
Figure 4.1 shows the groundwater basins and exposed aquifers in the Hebron District. The majority of the district is underlained by the Jerusalem desert groundwater sub-basin which is itself underlained by the Auga-Tamaseeh and the Hebron-Beer Sheva' Sub-basins of the western and eastern flank of the West Bank Mountain Aquifer.
There are four licensed groundwater wells in the Hebron District which are used for domestic purposes. As mentioned previously, these wells are controlled by the following:
There are also 64 traditional shallow groundwater wells which are un-licensed and used for irrigation purposes.
To increase water supply to the Hebron District and reduce water shortage, Hebron Municipality requested permission from the Israeli military authority to construct a deep groundwater well to tap the Lower Beit Kahil formation (Lower Cenomanian Aquifer) in the Herodion area (Wadi Sa'ir). The Municipality has succeeded in 1995 in obtaining the necessary permission to drill this new well in Wadi Sa'ir close to Taquo' Area (13 km north of the city). The project will enhance the Municipality's own water recourses to meet the minimum demand currently estimated at about 70 l/c/day.
The well is planned to be 700 meters deep and 18 inches in diameter, and will have all the necessary electro-mechanical accessories and a 13 km conveyance pipeline (16 inch diameter) which will carry the water to the central reservoir in Hebron. The site is selected by the West Bank Water Department (WBWD) near the two operating wells at Herodion (Batn El-Ghoul 4 & 5). The estimated well's yield will be approximately 300-400 m3/hr, and will tap the Lower Beit Kahil geologic formation. Tahal (1979) had recommended to drill two wells at the same site, one in the upper and one in the lower Cenomanian aquifer.
There are approximately 57 springs, see figure 4.2, in the Hebron District which are freely used by the surrounding population without restrictions for small scale domestic and irrigation purposes. Table 4.1 shows the main springs of the Hebron District and their discharge rate. The springs and their discharge rate can be seen in table 4.2 of appendix 3.
| Spring Name | 82/83 | 83/84 | 84/85 | 85/86 | 86/87 | 87/88 | 88/89 | 89/90 | 90/91 | 91/92 | 92/93 | 93/94
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sa'ir | 211 | 37 | 42 | 26 | 80 | 82 | 37 | 14 | 28 | 294 | 163 | 39
|
| Dilba | 84 | 32 | 32 | 20 | 23 | 37 | 32 | 32 | 38 | 108 | 50 | 32
|
| Kanar-west | 89 | 37 | 32 | 32 | 37 | 83 | 53 | 39 | 47 | 129 | 87 | 34
|
| Ungor | 105 | 44 | 26 | 32 | 37 | 37 | 42 | 37 | 32 | 110 | 76 | 66
|
| * Discharge in 1000 cubic meters (West Bank Water Department files). | ||||||||||||
Rainwater harvesting is a common practice in the West Bank. During the winter, the rainwater is collected from the roofs of the houses and stored in cisterns. Two types of rain water catchment systems are used. One system works on a large scale to collect storm water runoff from the ground. This water is then stored in large reservoirs. The other system collects rain water on a small scale from controlled surfaces, such as a roof. This water is stored in small reservoirs, known as cisterns, constructed underneath or next to house. The average capacity of the existing cisterns is 70 m3. According to Hebron Municipality, 60% of the inhabitants of the city have cisterns in their houses. In rural areas, the percentage of inhabitants using cistern collection systems is higher than in the city. This is because some of the small villages and khirabes are not connected to water distribution networks, thus experiencing a shortage of water. Also, if connected, rural areas suffer from frequent shortage in water supply.
The responsible authorities for water supply in the Hebron District are:
Table 4.3 below shows the results of routine chemical analysis for major cations and anions of Al-Fawwar wells which are operated by Hebron Municipality. Water sampling and physical water quality measurements, pH, Temperature (Temp) and Electrical Conductivity (EC) where conducted by the Applied Research Institute of Jerusalem (ARIJ) and analyzed at the laboratories of Abu Dies University in December, 1994. ARIJ was not given access to the Mekorot wells to analyze the water quality. The results of the water testing shows that all of the measurements fall within the international standards for drinking water.
| Well Name | Ca+2 | Mg+2 | Na+ | K+ | HCO3- | NO3- | F- | TDS
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fawwar1 Fawwar2 |
65 61 |
58 54 |
28 21 |
6 1 | 182 223 |
12.22 12.23 |
0.15 0.10 |
452 472 |
| Well Name | Date | Temp(oC) | EC(uS/cm) | pH
|
||||
| Fawwar1 Fawwar2 | 7/12/94 7/12/94 | 14.7 13.0 | 389 412 | 7.3 7.1 | ||||
The current network was constructed early in the 1960's. The network is made of steel pipe-lines, with a diameter ranging from 2-16 inches. Approximately 55% of the water is lost due to leakage, illegal use of water and accuracy of water meters. Along with the two wells from which water is drawn, the Hebron Municipality has five storage reservoirs which are also connected to the municipality distribution network (see table 4.4).
| Reservoir | Capacity(m3)
|
| Central | 3,785
|
|---|---|
| No.2 | 2,000
|
| No.3 | 600
|
| No.4 | 600
|
| No.5 | 400
|
| Total | 7,385 |
The municipality has recently completed the construction of 12 km of new distribution lines and has rehabilitated 4 km of the existing pipelines under the support of the Palestinian Economic Council for Development and Reconstruction (PECDAR). The network currently covers 90% of the population of the city. Rehabilitation of the existing networks is in progress in some villages of the district such as, Yatta, Halhoul and Al-Dhahriya under the support of PECDAR.
Hebron Municipality consumes approximately 105 m3/hr from Al-Fawwar wells No.1 & No.2 which is equivalent to 2500 m3/day, and Mekorot supplies the municipality with approximately 7000 m3/day at the best conditions, and decreases to reach zero during the summer months. The average water supply of about 9500 m3/day, distributed to the population of Hebron City and the population of the surrounding villages and refugee camps which is about 50,000 people. The daily per capita supply rate varies from 20 l/c/day during the summer months to 50 l/c/day during the best conditions of supply, (including water losses). The daily consumption is considerably low compared with the Israeli per capita consumption, that is currently estimated at about 250 l/c/day. The villages of the district which are supplied by Mekorot have a shortage in water supply around the year and have almost no water supply during summer months.
Water provided by Mekorot is conveyed from Herodion wells into the supplied areas through a 16-inch diameter pipeline. Hebron Municipality buys water from Mekorot at a price of 2 NIS/m3 and sells it for consumers at the following tariff:
| Monthly Consumption (m3) | Price (NIS)0-10 |
|---|---|
| 0-10 | 2.45 |
| 11-15 | 2.55 |
| >15 | 2.65 |
Two other wells of Rihiya and Samu' are used by Mekorot to provide the settlements and villages of Yatta, Dhahriya, Samu' and Rihiya with water.
Most of Hebron District population are using cisterns as an alternative source for domestic and agricultural purposes. Table 4.5 below shows water supply and demand projections up to the year 2020.
| Year | Household (mcm) | Industry (mcm) | Agriculture (mcm) | Total (mcm) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 9.5 | 1.6 | 0.5 | 11.6 |
| 2000 | 20.77 | 4.3 | 1.8 | 26.87 |
| 2010 | 37.58 | 8.8 | 23.6 | 69.98 |
| 2020 | 58.56 | 14.3 | 45.5 | 128.36 |
The figures in table 4.5 take into consideration the population growth, returnees, increment of per capita demand and development of the a agricultural and industrial sectors.
