Decision-Support Tools were developed during the SALAM Initiative to help stakeholders from Jordan and Palestine compute the current and future water budgets and evaluate water production and transfer strategies.
The Middle East is one of the driest regions in the world and must cope with increasing water deficits. Researchers developed during the SALAM-Initiative solutions to support Palestinian and Jordanian stakeholders in water resources management. Several Decision-Support Tools (DS-Tool) were conceived and are compiled in the SALAM Information and Expert System (IES).
The first DS-Tool is the Water Budget Tool, which computes the projected freshwater budget from 2020 to 2050 in several economic sectors in Jordan and Palestine at the cluster or national level. A baseline development scenario is defined in both countries. The user can change the assumptions for computing future water demand and supply and create its own development scenario. Water demand, supply and budget are displayed in graphs.
The Macro-Model Tool is an optimization tool designed to identify the cost-minimal option to supply water from desalination plants at the Mediterranean and Red Sea to all demand clusters in Palestine and Jordan. The water-planner can modify the capacity of the seawater desalination plants and the freshwater deficits in the demand clusters, and compare the cost-minimal solutions obtained. The specific water production and transfer costs, the ideal transfer paths and the discharge and diameter of all conveyance systems are determined and displayed by the tool.
A set of water production and transfer strategies were developed during the SALAM Initiative. They are compared in the Performance Matrix based on technical, economic and environmental criteria. Gauges and colours allow the user to assess the relative performance of a strategy against the others.
The Decision-Support Tools (link see below) were handed over to the Palestinian and Jordanian stakeholders during a series of tutorials in August 2022. In the long term they will be further developed and improved during follow-up projects.
