Furthermore, according to the treaty, the countries will establish a joint water committee to oversee issues regarding the quality of the water (Hof, p.53). Israel Discharges Treated Sewage Into Jordan River in Spite of Ministry’s Opposition . Jordan and Syria also divert water from the Upper Jordan River, reducing flow to the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. 25, 2019. Long-term datasets are important for the detection of excessive nutrients entering a water body and can guide mitigation action. Christians believed that Jesus was baptized in the River Jordan by John the Baptist. Jordan River Water Quality Monitoring – 2017 ... pollution is through consistent and long-term monitoring of the watershed. The Water Authority approved the move, even though the Environmental Protection Ministry and environmentalists argue it causes harm to flora and fauna near streams. Jordan River sees baptisms amid the pollution. Zafrir Rinat. The Jordan River has a long history that dates back to biblical times. What is considered excessive depends on the watershed in question and the Michael Wine, a Fulbright postdoctoral fellow at … Christian evangelicals have teamed up with environmentalists to try to save the Jordan River, whose clean water has … The Jordan River is 156 miles long and flows from West Asia to the Dead Sea. In the last three decades, the Dead Sea’s level has fallen almost 100 feet. RIVER POLLUTION In 1964, Israel began operating a pumping station that diverts water from the Sea of Galilee to the National Water Carrier. Thousands of people travel to make the pilgrimage to the Jordan River. Also in 1964, Jordan constructed a channel that diverted water from the Yarmouk River, another main tributary of the Jordan River to the East Ghor Canal. Jordan experiences massive droughts as the Dead Sea continues to evaporate. JERUSALEM (RNS/ENInews) Concerns about pollution and water quality have prompted an environmental advocacy group to call for the banning of baptisms in the lower Jordan River, where the Bible says Jesus was baptized. As the Dead Sea dries up, Jordan comes into a crisis with climate change. In terms of environmental conservation, Jordan and Israel are obligated to protect the river from pollution, contamination, or industrial disposal. This pollution, coupled with the diversion of much of the river’s clean water by Israel, Syria and Jordan, is endangering the river—the backdrop of many biblical narratives—to the point of extinction. Mar. Israel too has diverted some 600 million cubic meters of water in the Sea of Galilee — another lake — from the Jordan River. 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