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Discussion with Jaber Bassan, 69
years old, adviser with the Ministry for
the Hydraulic and Electric Resources.
Summary of the first part of maintenance:
Civil war of 1975 to 1990
Annual precipitations:
840mm in 80 days left again in 8 months
between September and May.
200mm for North and 1500mm in top of the
mount Lebanon (valley of Bekaa).
Water report enough but:
1. Bad distribution in time
2. Bad distribution in the country
While simplifying, here the mechanism
which makes of Lebanon a well sprinkled
country but not everywhere:
- the dominant winds arrive from the Mediterranean
by the West of Lebanon charged with water.
- When that they run up against the chain
of the Lebanon go up (until 3000m of altitude),
they must discharge from their moisture
to be able to go up (thus rain before and
on the assembly line).
- While going down again in the plain of
Bekaa (1000m of altitude) they is reloaded
in moisture (thus they take water around
them).
- There are a second zone of increase with
the assembly line of the Anti Lebanon parallel
with the first (2000m of altitude) and thus
a second zone of precipitations.
For this reason Syria is desert in the East
of Lebanon
Hydrography:
17 permanent rivers.
About thirty stoppings adding up 251millions
m3 including 220 for the only dam Qaraoun
on Litani.
2000 seasonal sources of drinking water
terrestrial and 60 underwater sources.
Supply water:
In 1970, 3000 individual and collective
drillings are in activities; in 1997, the
census on the level of the buildings showed
that 45000 buildings are equipped with wells
for which it is necessary to add drillings
nonrelated to the buildings (irrigation,
village, etc...). In their crushing majority
these drillings are illegal.
12 stations of water treatments are operational
23% of the buildings are connected to no
network in 1997.
11% of the land districts are connected
to no network.
Leakage rate of the network 50% Price of
m3 varies from 0,11 cents euro to 0,40 (Beirut)
according to the offices of water. In France
one pays 2,2 Euro per m3 In the Lebanese
invoice the cost of purification is not
included/understood and yet this price does
not completely cover the real price of water
(adduction, treatment, stopping, etc...)
Water treatment worn:
50% of the population are connected to sewerage
systems (80% in urban zone, 25% in rural
zone) rejected towards the sea and the rivers.
There are only 2 stations of pre-purification.
But 6 are under development and 5 in the
course of invitation to tender. 13 secondary
stations were carried out by ONG local communities.
87 outlets at sea (29 industrialists, 58
servants).
Water with the meter... and if there
weren't?
Operation in the cities is simple, there
is a gauge at each house. This gauge consists
of a fixed opening of diameter. The pressure
being always the same (in theory) volume
delivered in one day amounts in m³
according to the gauge which one has (1m³
in general for the private individuals).
This system of gauge is very practical for
the offices of water, because it makes it
possible to deliver the same quantity throughout
the day. Thus a peak period ago. On the
other hand for the users the system is very
constraining. The pressure being weak, all
the buildings of more than 3 stages must
have a pump. Moreover the low flow does
not allow to take a shower, it is thus necessary
to equip all the buildings (and even the
houses) with tanks put in general on the
roof. These tanks make it possible to keep
a pressure and a constant flow (by gravity)
sufficient when it is wished. Actually the
network of the town of Beirut undergoes
water cuts regularly. It is thus necessary
to have large a enough tank for the days
when there is no water. See example of the
management of water in a hotel (below)
Continuation of maintenance
HYdrotour: You spoke to
us a few moments ago about the river El
Kebir which delimits the border between
the North of Lebanon and Syria. According
to you it is an example of co-operation
between two states on a significant problem
of division of water?
Jaber Bassam: Yes! We started in
1998 at the time when I took my retirement
and which I left the post of General manager.
I then intervened in this file as institutional
expert. At the beginning of the year 2002,
the final project was ready and, as of April
20 of the same year, an agreement had made
between the Syrian Minister for the irrigation
and the Lebanese Minister for the hydraulic
and electric resources. Only two months
after, the agreement was ratified by the
Lebanese Parliament and the assembly of
the Syrian people.
"a stopping will be built by the
two countries..."
HY: Can you summarize us the
content of this agreement?
JB: Initially it would have to be
specified that this agreement was built
on the model of the convention of the United
Nations on the laws of use of the international
nonnavigable rivers.
We started by defining his annual throughput
on the basis of data which we had in the
two countries: 150 million m³ per annum.
60% were allocated to Syria and 40% in Lebanon
that it is in dry or wet period. Each country
has the right to use its quota at the place
and the time that it chooses. A stopping
of 70 million m³ will be built by the
two countries, which will pay each one of
it half. The good distribution of water,
the management of the basin, as well as
the construction of the stopping will be
managed by a Joint Committee.
HY: How determined
the quota of use?
JB: We based ourselves on the recommendations
of UNO (Article 6 of convention) which define
the following factors:
- Hydrogéographie, hydrogeology...
- social and economic Needs and needs for
the population.
- existing and potential Use.
- Conservation and protection
- Presence of alternatives
"Syria A admitted that these two
stoppings could have a negative impact downstream"
HY: Which were the great
contributions of this agreement?
JB: The construction of the stopping,
without any doubt! Indeed, Syria has already
on its territory upstream of two stoppings
of 35 million m³ each one, and it does
not need really a third stopping. However
to take into account article 7 of the International
Convention, which mentions that there should
not be harmful effect on behalf of one or
the other country, Syria A admitted that
these two stoppings could have a negative
impact downstream, and thus accepted the
construction of this one...
HY: And to conclude?
JB: The agreement on Nahr El Kebir
is an excellent example of co-operation
between two countries based on conventions
of UNO. It shows that divergent interests
for the use of divided water resources,
can be harmonized and that peace on ground
would be reached if good intentions guided
the world.
HY: Thank you Jaber Bassam,
thank you for this conclusion. We hope that
one day it can adapt with your neighbor
of the South: Israel.
The management of water in a hotel:
Summary of the discussion with Melhem
Malkoun, General manager of Put of Gold,
Beirut, Hamra district.
The Casa hotel of Gold has a capacity of
120 customers.
A customer consumes on average 1/2m3 per
day. This holds account of the laundry,
the kitchens, the maintenance and the consumption
of the rooms. For that the hotel has 100m³
cisterns in the basements (dirty and clean
water) and 40m³ on the roofs (water
suitable for consumption, which goes down
in the rooms by gravity). Normally the water
of the city (measured with 60m3) should
make it possible the hotel to be autonomous.
But actually (and especially in summer),
the water cuts are frequent and can lasted
one day whole. The direction of the hotel
thus set up a provisioning by tanker.
In order to ensure itself of the food safety
of its customers, Put it of Gold made install
a true station of water treatment in its
basements.
The circuit is thus the following:
1. Water passes in a reversed osmosor who
disencumbers it of the majority of the micro-organisms.
In order to limited the losses which amounted
to 50% (water which remained bad side of
the membrane and was then not recoverable),
Melhem Malkoun set up a system of recycling
of this water and reduced the losses to
25%.
2. Water passes in a system of filters to
the activated carbon which fix another fraction
of bacteria and chemical.
3. Then a chlorination.
4. Lastly, to withdraw the chlorine taste,
they carry out a dechloration.
By safety, an analysis of the quality of
water is made each month.
The hotel also has a well which is seldom
used, because water is increasingly brackish
there. This results from the overexploitation
of the ground water which, being emptied
of its fresh water, is polluted by the very
close sea water infiltrations. This irreversible
phenomenon in the short run is increasingly
frequent on the coast of Lebanon.
Here an interesting example of what must
do a "rich" hotel to provide to
its customers water necessary to her two
or three daily showers. For this hotel the
price of water covers all its direction.
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