رسائل ماجيستير
English
2016
A study on the available options for mitigating water scarcity in the Hebron District, Palestine
خليل تمار, ماهر أبو ماضي
كلية الدراسات العليا-جامعة بيرزيت · فلسطين
Water is the soul of life, and many communities will face the problem of water scarcity in the coming years.Water scarcity is the lack of available water resources, which lead to a gap in thecoverage of demands in an area.Many countries are working continuously to reduce water scarcity.Palestine is one of theareas that suffer from water scarcity significantly in the Middle East. The Israeli occupation, is a major cause of the growing problem of water scarcity in Palestine. Hebron district sufferssignificantly from water scarcity compared to other districts in Palestine. This danger threatensHebron entity from all aspects of life(domestic, agricultural and industrial).The main aimof this research is to studythe available optionsof water resources covering both local resources and nonconventional sources in the Hebron Districtthat can mitigate water scarcity in the districtto create a state of balance between demand and supply based on scientific facts. The method that has been followed is by calculating the value of the Falkenmark index, based on the amount of water available, and the amount needed for domestic, agricultural and industrial water use, at the current situation and the future situation at 2035.It was found that thecurrent total water required to satisfy a person’s needs for domestic, agricultural and industrial sectors is(42.42 Mcm/yr), and thecurrentrenewablewater resourcesin Hebron Districtper person for domestic, agricultural and industrial sectorsis (10.97 Mcm/yr). Generally, it was found that Hebron districtexperience absolute scarcity. And it was found that the available options to mitigate water scarcity in the HebronDistrict were:water right,water demand management, rainwater harvesting,reduction ofwater leaks and theftsand treated wastewater reuse.And it was found that when integrated theseavailable optionsalltogetherwill create a state of balance between demand and supply.The result showed that the total water required to satisfy a person’s needs for domestic, agricultural and industrial sectorsat 2035 will be (48.22Mcm/yr), and the Future renewablewater resourcesin Hebron District due tointegratedavailable options all togetherwill be (86.10Mcm/yr).The results show a lack of management for water sector in Hebron District.This research has shown that the political situation resulting from the Israeli occupation,is the main problem that impede applying of these options.