Lake Bardawil is currently a very shallow lake, but geological information reveals that once this lake was 20-40 metres deep. With deepening the lake (step 1) marine sediments such as sand, silts, clay, peat and sabkhas will become available in large quantities. These sediments can be reused in many different ways:

 

• High-potential materials with high organic content: reuse for further treatment, such as fertile soils.

• Cohesive materials: reuse for structural works, such as dams and terraces to reduce permeability.

• Granular materials: reuse for construction works, such as sand for coastal reinforcement.

 

Different segregation techniques are planned to be deployed to separate the materials. First traditional segregation methods are foreseen wherein several basins sediments are hydraulically separated by predominantly their grain size and cohesive behaviour. So-called high potential materials are planned to be used to build fertile soils for land regreening. These materials, coming from the saline coast, must be desalinated. In order to avoid excessive use of fresh water, we are currently studying various ways of desalination.

 

Design & Research

The Weather Makers are currently investigating the growth potential of Lake Bardawil sediments and the potential of desalination of soils by the use of ecology. Can salt tolerant crops grow on these soils and extract salt from it? And what can we do with these plants? An experiment is currently carried out in conjunction with a dredging company, John Todd and Plantlab in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands.

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