I have been following the controversy over the dam at Janneh
in Lebanon lately. I hiked this beautiful spot in 1984. http://almashriq.hiof.no/lebanon/300/360/363/363.7/fareed/lebenv38.html
Janneh is Arabic for Paradise. The dam would destroy one of the most rugged,
verdant, and historic spots in the country. There are signs it may be a
geologically flawed plan, given the karst limestone prevalent in the country;
it might even threaten Jeita Grotto, a prime tourist site and source of
drinking water for Beirut. I looked around the Internet to find out more about
it.
I found this about the dam at Janneh: http://www.arteliagroup.com/sites/default/files/projet/fichesPDF/en/water/eau_barrages_lbn_janneh_dam_ta_0.pdf
The companies involved in this project should be ashamed to
have their names tied to it.
I came across the article below. Janneh is only one of some
54 – fifty-four! - dams that are being planned all over the country! http://al-shorfa.com/en_GB/articles/meii/features/main/2011/10/31/feature-02
I am sure some might be acceptable, but I’m sure many others
will do irreparable harm to the countryside.
And then I came across this jewel! http://www.grupposimonettisrl.com/mseilha-dam.html
(Click on the image for a simulated photo of the dam and lake). A dam next to
Mseilha castle! Did anyone even know about this? This is almost as bad as the
one at Janneh. It would destroy the visual background of this historic castle
(as if the war-era gravel pit near it weren’t bad enough) and drown a river
lined with riparian (river) trees – important habitat for the few birds still
left in Lebanon and other wildlife.
And, “No!” Minister of Energy and Water Resources Gebran
Bassil, these projects won’t help tourism! When I visit Lebanon, I will avoid
even setting an eye on the more obnoxious ones like the plague (if they’re ever
built). Just as bad; every dam is going to require its own new enormous rock
quarry or the expansion of an existing one.
Okay; I realize Lebanon is facing water shortages, made even
worse by this past abnormally dry winter. But there are better ways to save
water than to build dams:
- Fix Lebanon’s notoriously decrepit water-delivery
infrastructure to prevent leaks.
- Create a culture of water conservation. Should we really
be building dams so people can continue to hose down sidewalks and building
entrances? Some options are low-flow toilets, aerators on water faucets, harvesting
rain water off roofs for irrigation, fewer lawns…
- Continue building the small ponds so prevalent in the
higher elevations. This would help meet the needs of farmers and reduce the
demand for big dams.
The dams would be a relatively short-term solution anyway.
If they are built, the following needs to be done:
- Reforest watersheds feeding the dams and create nature
preserves. Otherwise the bare soil will erode and quickly fill up the lakes.
This is made even worse by the reckless bulldozing and soil dumping that’s so
common in Lebanon. (Have you looked at Google Earth lately?)
- The forests will also absorb rainwater, reduce flash
flooding during storms, and release stream water gradually during the dry
season, so that it can be absorbed by the human population.
- Control bird hunting! Sounds like it’s unrelated to water,
but it is! I read an article in the Audubon Society’s magazine a long time ago
about the bird massacres of Lebanon. I have it buried somewhere and need to
find it, but it analyzes how birds contribute to forest health and therefore
erosion and the retention and gradual release of stream water during the dry
season.
- Are they safe? Lebanon is like a limestone sponge. Will
the water leak around the dam and cause erosion that would undermine them? What
if there’s a sudden flash flood that overwhelms the dam? (See above about
forests and watersheds.) Would it survive? In 1983, record flooding overwhelmed
Lake Powell; Glen Canyon Dam in Arizona could barely release water fast enough,
one of the spillway tunnels was severely damaged and rock started to crumble,
and there was real fear the dam would give way, creating a catastrophic flood
through the Grand Canyon and taking out Hoover Dam and others below, and
destroying cities all the way to Mexico.
I live in Arizona, which is experiencing a horrible drought
dating back to the turn of the century. Extreme measures are being taken to
conserve water and bank it underground for later use. The US went on a
dam-building binge around the middle of the last century. Many are silting up,
are not filling to capacity due to the drought, leakage and surface evaporation.
Some of the smaller ones (the size of the average Lebanese dam) are even being
torn down. This country has essentially given up on building huge dams, many of
which were pork-barrel projects to benefit special interests such as
politicians and construction companies.
Lebanon needs to think this one through before unleashing
the bulldozers on its already-ravaged landscape.
