Palestinian Water I: Resources, Allocation and Perception

Transboundary water issues are not new; however, the Palestinian case represents a unique situation that is atypical from most transboundary water conflicts. This difference is marked most importantly by the issue of lack of domestic control over water resources within the Palestinian Territories. Since the Israeli occupation of the West Bank in 1967, Palestinian water policy has been dictated by Israeli control, which has resulted in an allocational shift in water distribution in the Palestinian Territories. In this article we review transboundary water practices and conflicts, water resources, allocation and consumption, water perception, and water reuse and conservation in the Palestinian West Bank in order to assess contemporary trends in water practices as well as recommend strategies for improving regional water management. Water use and perception are assessed based on an extensive unpublished research survey conducted by the Palestinian Hydrology Group in 2002. The final report from this survey focused on developing criteria and linking initial results from the survey to the design of a cost effective and equitable water delivery system that would provide all Palestinians with basic water needs. In this article, through a reassessment and statistical analysis of their data, we support the recommendations of this initial survey, including the implementation of an increasing block tariff system as a means of sustainably delivering water throughout the West Bank. However, any future water management cannot proceed in an effective manner unless some level of water control is relinquished by Israel.