Water Resources Management at Lake Tiberias and the Lower Jordan Valley in interplay with seawater desalination and hydropower generation

Lake Tiberias is Israel’s largest freshwater reservoir, located in northeastern Israel, uphill from the Jordanian Lower Jordan Valley. In view of increased water transfers to Jordan and in order to stabilize the water level of the lake, the supply of desalinated seawater from the coast to the lake is being discussed. As the lake is about 200 m below sea level, the difference in altitude could be used for hydroelectric power generation. This analysis shows that, depending on the capacity of desalination plant and the hydraulic system of the tunnel, the installed capacity of the hydropower plant would be between 9 MW and 47 MW. The magnitude of electricity that could be produced ranges between 78 GWh/a and 400 GWh/a, which corresponds to a recovery of 11–16% of the amount of electricity required by the desalination plant. Approximately 100 million m³ of water is conveyed annually from Lake Tiberias to Jordan’s King Abdullah Canal, the major supply line for potable and irrigation water in the Lower Jordan Valley. To improve transboundary water management from Lake Tiberias to the Jordan Valley, the present study demonstrates the potential feasibility of a predictive controlled operation. The water supply can be managed regarding spatial and temporal water demand, taking into account operational regulations. Bearing in mind a future increase in Israeli water supply to Jordan through a Water-Energy SWAP, the importance of optimized lake operations and coordinated water transfers will increase even more.