The main problem in cleaning up litani river pollution. Samples were performed and analyzed the first of every month. Qaraoun, an artificial lake of 11 square km, was created by the litani river dam, 60 meters high and 1,350 meters in length, which was completed in 1959. The litani power and irrigation project consists of. Nov 17, 2017 the litani river basin in the southern part of lebanon is in addition to the jordan river basin, the most important water source in the region, and it is not surprising that israel and lebanon have often encountered an armed conflict. The litani river raid was, initially, a commando operation to capture intact a key bridge in vichy french syria, just prior to the arrival of australian forces sent in to occupy the country. Bar elias litani pollution, lebanon people in bar elias used to drink and swim in the litani river. Thomas naff in a waterscarce region the litani river which is an entirely sovereign lebanese body of water whose watershed lies wholly within the border of lebanon has always been very tempting to thirsty neighbours because of the quantity, quality, and location of its flow. Usaid litani river basin management support program, agriculture, automarket, business information, business research, construction, economy, education, employment. Current situation i executive summary introduction the litani river is the largest river in lebanon and drains the central and south bekaa valley. This book presents a collection of chapters covering research on the litani river basin.
Cnrsl, who took the initiative to write this book entitled the litani river, lebanon. Uyun it bends sharply west and cuts a spectacular gorge up to 900 feet 275 metres deep through the lebanon. This motivated the lebanese government to take action and start working on the. Unknown assailants fired on monday evening at least one rocket from south lebanon towards the northern israeli occupied territories.
Equally important, however, is the fact that development of the litani basin might very well be a necessary action to thwart israeli designs over this entirely lebanese water system. In spite of the intensive efforts on studying the physiochemical properties of its water. Qaraoun, an artificial lake of 12 square km, was created by the litani river dam, 60 meters high and 1,350 meters in length, which was completed in 1959. This study aims to determine the extent of groundwater damage in the upper litani river basin ulrb after years of water mismanagement and overfertilization in what is considered to be lebanons largest fertile area. Oclcs webjunction has pulled together information and resources to assist library staff as they consider how to handle coronavirus. Ian came to us with a true military story wrapped around an event that happened during the second world war. Litani river basin disputes around water soapboxie. Its water resources have been harnessed for human uses since the 1960s through the construction of the qaraoun dam. The litani river has been lately subjected to several aspects of. Water quality of litani rivers at quaraoun lake station in lebanon was evaluated by measuring various physicochemical parameters between 2008 and 2018. The book follows the units officers and men from its formation in galashiels, through arduous commando training on the isle of arran. Usaid litani river basin management support program. The litani river basin occupies about a quarter of lebanons surface area, and it has recently been subject to severe conditions such as contamination and decreased discharge. Urbanisation rates in lebanon have exceeded the service capacities of large cities.
Litani river raid no11commando 910 june 1941 in vichy french syria. The battle of the litani river 9 june 1941 was a battle of the second world war that took place between during the advance on beirut during the syrialebanon campaign. Could recent action end decades of pollution in lebanons. The ideological fathers of the jewish state in the middle east were aware of the importance of extensive and quality water resources such as the litani river for the existence and further development of the country, and it is not surprising that the first plans for the formation of israel envisaged the inclusion of the litani river basin in. Geoffrey keyes would lead x troop, which would land just north of litani river and conduct the main push to qasmiye bridge. Sep 27, 2019 litani river, 174 km long, is located in the middle part of lebanon and joins the inner zone bekaa plain with the coastal one mount lebanon fig. Mona fakih, director of water resources at the ministry of energy and water resources, mr. Never before have we come across an author who has put so much into a book in terms of thorough research and for a firsttime author ian serves the deceased and remaining commandos and their families the respect.
The litani river basin is essential for agriculture, urban development, industry in lebanon and suffers from widespread water pollution due to lack of pollution regulation and enforcement, few operable wastewater treatment facilities, and environmentally damaging agricultural practices. For the litani river, a business plan to identify the measures to alleviate pollution in the river and the belonging qaraoun reservoir, was framed in 2006 and followed. Litani river authority was established under the law dated august 14, 1954 amended on december 30, 1955. Eutrophication of litani river, the most important water national concern. This article examines the hydropolitics of the middle east, through a case study of the litani river of lebanon. Numerous and frequentlyupdated resource results are available from this search. Lebanon cost assessment of water resources degradation of the litani basin 2 acknowledgements and citation acknowledgements. The battle for litani river was among the hardest fought of the operation, and despite being awarded four military crosses, two distinguished conduct medals, a military medal and two mentions in dispatches, for their courage and bravery at litani river it was clear that within days of the commando returning to cyprus it was likely to be. Litani river authority created by a law dated on 14 august 1954 and rectified later on 30 december 1955. The australian 7th division, commanded by majorgeneral john lavarack, crossed the. They were to secure the north and south banks of the river and prevent an enemy demolition of the qasmiye bridge, allowing the 21 st brigade to advance towards beirut.
Files are available under licenses specified on their description page. Pdf the national plan for litani river remediation researchgate. Depending on the vehicle you choose, you can also calculate the amount of co2 emissions from your vehicle and assess the environment impact. The largest river in lebanon, the litani river basin lrb is equivalent to 20 percent of lebanons land area and winds through the bekaa valley and south lebanon. Valley between the lebanon and antilebanon mountains. The aims of this study are to assess the seasonal variations in water quality in the upper litani river basin, including the qaraaoun lake. Lebanon litani power and irrigation project english the.
It is the main water source for irrigation in the bekaa valley. Litani river by drone, an aerial video footage showing part of the litany river and the qaraoun lake with the formed island. Litani river article about litani river by the free. The litani river is lebanons longest and largest river flowing entirely within its boundaries. Water pollution and urbanisation trends in lebanon. Csm8ism5 study of the correlation of the physicochemical characteristics of the litani lower river basin nada nehme1,2. The amphibious force was to coordinate with the 21 st brigades attack on the litani river position, through an amphibious assault from sea near the mouth of the river. The litani river basin is one of the key river basins in. The river rises in the fertile beqaa valley, west of baalbek, and empties into the mediterranean sea north of tyre. The river occupies four administrative governorates, which include more than 350,000 people about 9% of lebanons population. Physical and chemical samples were collected between 2005 and 2010 and analyzed using the standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater apha, awwa in.
Evaluation of the physicochemical properties of the. Physicochemical evaluation of the upper litani river. The development of the litani river basin will figure highly in this strategy. Wapor annual precipitation mmyr for the litani river basin. What is amazing about this story is it is one of bravery at the highest level possible from a commando unit and their daring attack behind enemy lines. Twenty years ago, the river started to get severely polluted due to factories and household wastes being dumped in the stream in the river causing many health problems for locals. The litani river, lebanons main artery, is facing an. The battle of the litani river 9 june 1941 was a battle of the second world war that took place on the advance to beirut during the syrialebanon campaign. Water quality of the upper litani river basin, lebanon cyberleninka. Assessing water quality management options in the upper. Pedder would command y troop and provide support, while the smaller z troop would land two miles north of the river, near the kafr badda bridge, to block enemy reinforcements. The river rises in the fertile beqaa valley valley, west of baalbek, and empties into the mediterranean sea north of tyre.
Groundwater quality in the upper litani river basin beirut arab. The once roaring waters of litani river are choking in feces. The chirps data has been downloaded from the usgs website because. Topographic map of litani river region in lebanon showing roads, tracks, villages, buildings, rivers, streams, wells and telephone lines. Litani river, written by ian mcharg, is the story of no. Water security is a very important purpose facing the world in the last decay as one of the main consequences related to the risks of climate change.
Litani river lebanontourismlebanon tourism, discover. Evaluation of the physicochemical properties of the waters. Water accounting in the litani river basin food and agriculture. A lebanese girl cools off in the polluted waters of one of the branches of the allitani river in anjar, northeast of. This includes the major physiochemical characteristics. Exceeding 140 km in length, the litani river is the longest river in lebanon and provides an average annual flow estimated at 920 milli. Lebanon litani power and irrigation project english abstract. The seven years ambitious plan is divided into four components.
According to military sources, close to 70 percent of the katyusha rockets raining down on israel are fired just south of, and north of the litani riv. Lebanons longest river is facing an environmental crisis. The litani river presents an example of the influence of urbanisation on water quality in lebanon. Assessing water quality management options in the upper litani. The litani river drains the central and south bekaa valley, and the qarauon dam is located at the southern end of the valley.
Dam in the litani river basin using an unsteady us army corps of engineers hecras model. Despite new efforts to tackle pollution in the litani. The highest levels of contamination along the litani river thus falls within the midupper litani river basin, where the largest communities are located and are discharging their effluent into the river. Water quality of the upper litani river basin, lebanon. The source of lake qaraoun, the litani river meaning. Lions in greek which rises in the bekaa and empties into the mediterranean sea north of tyre has changed its colors over the years from crystal blue to murky brown, threatening populations over its 140 km stretch. Lebanons litani river faces environmental crisis youtube. Downstream the river flows through a narrow valley, a canyon in some places dropping 800 m to sea over some 70 km. However, surface water sources are most exploited, and more certainly the water from rivers. Since its establishment, the litani river authority was considered to be a public institution whose functions are identified as follows. The australian 7th division, commanded by majorgeneral john lavarack, crossed the litani river and later clashed with vichy french troops. Jul 19, 2016 the once roaring waters of litani river are choking in feces.
However, the commandos plans were changed and while the new objectives were largely achieved, the cost in lives was high. Litani river is a very educational read and brings to the fore one of the many lifecostly military deployments of world war ii. This can be mainly due to the trapping effect of qaraoun reservoir, nitrogen cycling discontinuity and possible dilution. All structured data from the file and property namespaces is available under the creative commons cc0 license. The leontes bridge is a roman segmental arch bridge in lebanon. The litani river is an important water resource in southern lebanon. Flowing entirely within lebanon, the litani rises in the biqa valley and flows south between the lebanon mountains to the west and the antilebanon mountains to the east until nabatiya, where it turns sharply to the west crosses lebanon and empties into the mediterranean sea. Lebanon litani power and irrigation project english. A spillway of 6503 meters carries the water to the underground station where generators produce a maximum of 185 megawatts of electricity, the largest hydroelectric project in lebanon.
On thursday, november 8, 2018, lebanons caretaker minister of industry ordered the shutting down of 75 factories operating without a valid license in the bekaa region, for their role polluting the litani river the litani, the longest river in the country, is an essential source of water for irrigation and hydroelectricity production. Water quality of the upper litani river basin, lebanon sciencedirect. It was implemented by international resources group irg, in cooperation with the litani river authority lra, and was funded by. We would like to thank the litani authority for providing data from their river gauges for our research.
This famous river is contaminated, and needs to be cleaned up, and litani river pollution has been one of the main highlighted. The report contains a detailed swot analysis, information on the companys key employees, key competitors and major products and services. Aug 11, 2006 the government of prime minister ehud olmert has given the israeli defense force the final approval to conduct the ground assault to the litani river in southern lebanon. Lions, is an important water resource in southern lebanon. The litani river has been lately subjected to several aspects of deterioration in its quality. Litani river article about litani river by the free dictionary.
This report provides the water accounting study for litani river basin in lebanon carried out by ihe delft using the water productivity wapor data portal of the food and agricultural organization fao. The litani river, as the largest lebanese rivers with a length of about 172 km and basin area of 2186 km2, has a discharge of about 360 million m3 year 3. The litani river basin occupies about a quarter of lebanons surface area, and it has recently been subject to severe geoenvironmental conditions such as water contamination and decreased discharge. Lebanese army soldiers search for a rocket launcher at the litani river valley, 10 kilometers away from the borders with israel, aug. Reliable information about the coronavirus covid19 is available from the world health organization current situation, international travel. This book presents contributions from different experts on water resources research of the litani river basin, lebanon. Groundwater overexploitation, deforestation and overgrazing, unplanned urban sprawl, untreated wastewater effluents, and unsustainable agricultural practices contribute to environmental degradation in the form of declining water and soil quality. Water quality deterioration of rivers and groundwater resources is one of the main threats to water sustainability in urban developed areas.
To find the map for the driving distance from tyre to litani river, please enter the source and destination and then select the driving mode. Could recent action end decades of pollution in lebanons litani river. Implement the litani irrigation, drying, drinking water and electricity projects. Pdf water quality of the upper litani river basin, lebanon. The main thesis is that the desire to obtain additional water sources has been a. The litani river basin suffers the fate of many river basins around the world. Litani river may further confirm the relatively better quality conditions of this part of the river reported in our previous work at the same stations of the river baydoun et al.
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