Salt, Sewage and Sinkholes: The Death of the Dead Sea | Foreign Correspondent

It’s the lowest place on earth. A sea in the middle of a desert. Fed by the waters of the Jordan River, nestled on the borders of Israel, Jordan and the West Bank, the Dead Sea has supported life and provided spiritual healing for millennia.

But today the Dead Sea is disappearing, its waterline receding year by year. And the fight over this diminishing resource is fueling tensions between Palestinians and Israelis.

In a visually stunning story, correspondent Eric Tlozek travels through this ancient land to unravel the mysteries of this vanishing sea.

Upstream in the Jordan Valley, the waters which feed into the Dead Sea have been diverted for agriculture and now there’s not enough to go around.

Zeyad, whose family lives in the Jordan Valley, says Palestinian farmers aren’t getting their fair share of water.

“They have a very big shortage of water. The water allocated for this village actually is less than 50% of the needed water.”

David, an Israeli farmer, says the Jewish settlers have used the water well, making an arid land productive and fertile.

‘When we came to the Jordan Valley, we found a desert’, says David, a spokesperson for settlers in the West Bank. ‘Nothing was growing here. So now the Jordan Valley is green.’

Downstream, as a result of less water, the landscape around the Dead Sea is being dramatically transformed and is collapsing in on itself. It’s creating a strange phenomenon - ‘sinkholes’.

Highways which once teemed with traffic are now buckled and broken. Holiday resorts which once hosted families are abandoned and ruined.

“It’s a spectacular landscape that developed in a few years”, says an Israeli government geologist.

Meanwhile, the faithful still believe in the waters’ healing powers even though much of the water they bless now comes from sewage pipes.

“Once the water of the river is blessed…anyone that has any kind of pain or any kind of bad feelings he can wash himself with this water and he can be healed”, says an Armenian Orthodox priest.

There’s debate about schemes which could halt the sea’s decline but there’s little political will.

“Who will pay the price for this water?”, asks one geologist.

This is an epic journey through a land with a rich history, a troubled present and an uncertain future.

“If our children will say that they wanted to save it, they can't even do it because it's too late. Everything that's happening here, it's because of us,” says Carmit, an Israeli hydrologist.

About Foreign Correspondent:
Foreign Correspondent is the prime-time international public affairs program on Australia's national broadcaster, ABC-TV. We produce half-hour duration in-depth reports for broadcast across the ABC's television channels and digital platforms. Since 1992, our teams have journeyed to more than 170 countries to report on war, natural calamity and social and political upheaval – through the eyes of the people at the heart of it all.

[Drakey_Fenix]

I don't understand how this is still a surprise to that many people. The same happened to the Aral Sea when water was diverted to agriculture, and that sea is gone today, only a small section of it is still left. Making the same mistake over and over again without learning is going to be the doom of our species one day.

[ellast]

One day people are going to find out they can't eat money but it'll be too late.
Greed is a sad affair.

[seashepherds]

"When the Well is Dry we know the worth of WATER"- Ben Franklin

[bonnieharris]

I've heard why the Dead Sea is going away. The farmers are using up the water in the Jordan River. I live in California, and the Salton Sea and Mono Lake are called the "two dead seas that Los Angeles killed". It's pathetic, people should be ashamed!

[solstice]

I grew up there and walked those beaches as a boy. I feel like one of the last witnesses of a dying world that future generations won't be able to even imagine. Behold! a planet, used to thrive with life, become as dead as the disappearing dead Sea.

[kimpulsipher]

I don't understand why the sink holes are a mystery. No matter if it is limestone or salt the principle is the same-underground erosion. The speed might be a question but the principles are the same. The Great Salt Lake is also getting smaller for most of the same reasons. Why are people suprised that lakes get smaller if you divert the water?

[salena]

The more they drain out the more it disappear. Thanks for a very honest documentary

[joeblack]

The dead sea being the lowest place on earth means it cant flow anywhere except up in the air through evaporation so minerals and salts just build up & up, coming from Bea Shiva down into the dead sea valley is the most awe inspiring view in the world, in my opinion, its like the valley of Gwangi spectacular prehistoric landscape.

[AngelGirl]

Why they call it a holy land. There nothing holy about this land, when there is no equality, no kindness, no sharing, and above all no love!.

[andreabennington]

Wow! I am impressed. This was a true documentary. It didn’t try to tell you what to think. Instead it informed you and helped you understand the situation.

[laurel]

The Dead Sea is really living up to its name

[seekittycat]

Dead sea and literal main source of water: *dying*
People: /watering their lawns

[larrymondelo]

If this land gets any holier, everyone will sink TOGETHER !

[theweatherisaokay]

Not far in the future, water is gold.

[ancebouye]

I visited twice the Dead Sea before and I realized when I personally saw it that it is possible sea water can vanish from the ocean or seas no matter how big it is when men continues to cosume it.

[Taz]

Very frustrating seeing educated but bigoted people, knowing full well what they are doing, but are not prepared to do anything to fix the problem, in a region with plenty of sun, they could use solar power to help pump water back in to supply everyone.

[DH-hzrv]

When the water completely disappears, they can pray for help & blame everyone but themselves.

[FluxeyHnS]

"sink holes are mysterious"
-simply explains how they formed

[shiny]

I vacationed in Jordan in 1982 and had developed painful itching hives all over my body. Swimming in the Dead Sea was the only thing that gave me relief.

[stephen]

Why does man have to be so destructive to everything it touches?