A State of Uncertainty Regarding the Impact of Future Global Climate Calls for Creating Groundwater Storage in Order to Ensure a Safe Supply of Water for Israel

Abstract

Various studies have shown that warm climatic spans in the history and prehistory of the Middle East have often engendered periods of drought and famine. These studies were based on profiles of proxy data such as changes of sea and lake levels, tree and stalagmite rings, and pollen ratios in lake and sea bottom sediments. Assuming that the past is a reliable key to the future, it may be predicted that ongoing global warming will cause a reduction in precipitation throughout the Mediterranean Region. In Israel the supply of future demand for water is based largely upon desalination of seawater and reuse of wastewater. In this chapter we demonstrate the impact of such an uncertainty on the future of safe water supply in Israel.