LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Dear Editor,


I noticed in the 6th paragraph of the


"Water Resources of Gaza" article on p. 28 in the April-June 2024 issue of TPG that the stated hydraulic conductivity of the Coastal Aquifer was 0.03 inches per day. If my math is correct that sounds awfully low for a regional aquifer. Is the stated rate correct?


Retired and curious. John Gansfuss, MEM-0471


Dear Editor, It has been pointed out to me that the


hydraulic conductivity or permeability of the Gaza Coastal Aquifer which I cited in my referenced article is absurdly low. That error should be corrected as “in the range of 15 and 140 m/d, with averages of 50-60 m/d” (House of Water Environment, 2010, p. 19, Table 3.2 per UN-ESCWA and BGR, 2013, Inventory of Shared Water Resources in Western Asia, Beirut, p. 493).


I regret my numerical error. Barney P. Popkin


Adam, I finally sat down and read Robert


Blauvelt's article in The Professional Geologist, Vol. 61, No. 1.


That piece raised a multitude of recol- lections of the number (long forgotten) of K-12 classrooms I visited with my hands-on fossil-mineral-rock samples, along with 35 mm slide shows; and the likewise forgotten number of K-12 teacher workshops / field trips designed and taken -- usually with a "stash" of sample bags, boxes, and labels, and in many cases when $$$$ were available shipped samples collected on the trips back to the participants' homes/schools.


On one of the trips, with college students,


we visited the Grand Canyon, hiked in / camped at Phantom Ranch, "doing geology" along the way. On the hike out -- we met a father with a very young daughter, who had gotten too far down the trail, who were obvi- ously struggling, "back uphill". The students looked at me, I nodded, and one student hoisted the youngster onto his back and started up the trail. Six of the fellows took turns carrying the youngster "up the hill". Dad was greatly relieved and wanted to pay them..... the students decided that an ice cream cone would do nicely.


Gail G. Gibson, Ph.D., PG, CPG, REP (semi-retired)


4 TPG • Jul.Aug.Sep 2024


Comment Regarding “Water Resources of Gaza”


The article “Water Resources of Gaza” in the April-May-June 2024 issue of The Professional Geologist paints an incom- plete picture of what is going on politically and hydro geologically. Gaza IS NOT under Israeli control. If it was, then the October 7th massacre could not have happened as hundreds of terrorists were able to openly cross the Gaza-Israel border on the north during daylight hours. Israeli forces had, in the past, entered Gaza when the terrorist rocket attacks took place, but no forces are stationed there. The situation is the same in the West Bank. The Palestinian Authority is the nominal governmental agency for both areas. However, the dominant terror- ist organization, Hamas, and many small groups of terrorists firmly control Gaza and are increasing their control of the West Bank.


As water resources go, Gaza, and much of


the West Bank, have the unfortunate circum- stance of being in an arid part of the world. I lived for a short time in Israel and had the chance to visit its entire length from the Negev (before it was returned to Egypt) to the Golan Heights adjacent to Lebanon and Syria. The climate has been classified as arid in the southern half of Israel and temperate in the northern half (Survey of Israel, 1970). The Negev comprises the southern third of


Adam, On Andrew Jones’ article on Geology in


Grade School, Vol 61, No. 2.


Always good to see geological profes- sionals in elementary grades classrooms, in front of students.


However, one thing I learned -- years ago


--- was to work with the teachers, i.e., via field trips for/with the teachers to quarries (where available), where they could see rocks, in outcrop, collect their own samples, take their own pictures, with three or four of us "professionals" alongside to verify identifications, and discuss the usefulness of the samples collected by the teachers for their classes.


Over the years, one thing became very obvious; that those teachers who went on such field trips snapped a lot of their own pictures, collected their own samples, became more "involved" with geology in their classrooms, i.e., a six-inch long quartz crystal or an Ordovician-age fossil that he/ she collected on the "weekend field trip.


Gail G. Gibson, Ph.D., PG, CPG, REP (semi-retired)


Israel and receives less than 2 inches of rain per year (Israel Meteorological Service). As you move north towards Jerusalem, condi- tions are still arid, though there are short periods of heavy rain. Yearly rainfall is typi- cally 20 inches just south of Jerusalem and increases to about 34 inches in the northern hilly region (Israel Meteorological Service). Also, Jerusalem does get light snow totaling about a couple of inches during the winter and it can be below freezing for short peri- ods of time during the day. Further north, you enter the mountainous Golan Heights (once part of Syria). Here, temperatures are significantly cooler, and conditions are wet- ter (40 inches locally; Israel Meteorological Service). Tall trees dominate the landscape. The highest mountains are snow covered during the winter and there is a ski resort. Homes located in this area need heat during the winter months. Precipitation varies in a cyclic fashion within the bounds of past low and high weather events (Fuks et al, 2017).


Obtaining sufficient drinking water is a


problem in any arid part of the world. The groundwater below arid regions is highly variable in quality and often very little is potable without treatment. The salinity can vary from just barely fresh to hypersaline. Even after treatment and disinfection, the taste can be unpleasant due to the high concentrations of dissolved minerals. Some groundwater resources in arid regions are large enough to be exploited, but still require treatment.


The bad taste of some groundwater is only one of the many problems of supplying drinking water to a large population. The author states that many wastewater treat- ment plants are either inoperable or only partially functioning due to lack of spare parts and chemicals, despite the efforts of various countries and entities to build more facilities. Additionally, there is not enough electricity to run much of the equipment due to the poor condition of the electric grid. The Palestinian Authority doesn’t have the money to improve the electrical infra- structure.


Yes, billions of dollars have been given to


the government by many countries and the United Nations for infrastructure improve- ment projects. However, almost all the money is taken by Hamas to build their tunnels, buy weapons and make rockets. The Palestinian Authority has no ability to resist Hamas.


Conditions in the West Bank are only


slightly better. Hamas controls the city of Jenin and many other towns. Syria has been deliberately pumping sewage and chemi- cal waste into an aquifer that is supposed to serve Israelis. However, this is also the aquifer that is supposed to be a drinking


www.aipg.org


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56