Israel’s national water carrier will lay the groundwork next month for a pipeline that will double its annual supply to Jordan, whose limited water resources have been under increased strain in recent years due to an influx of Syrian refugees, the Israeli financial website Globes reported on Wednesday.

Mekorot’s new pipeline will extend from Lake Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) and provide Jordan with 100 million cubic meters of water annually, roughly doubling the kingdom’s current allocation. The 5.5 km pipeline, which was approved by Israel’s Supreme Court, will mainly pass through agricultural lands in the Jordan Valley.

The arrival of over 650,000 Syrian refugees has exacerbated a severe water crisis in the Hashemite Kingdom, one of the world’s most arid countries, making the arrangement between Israel and Jordan more critical than ever. The deal is part of a broader water-sharing agreement that the neighboring countries signed in February 2015, which also commits Jordan to building a desalination plant in Aqaba and selling Israel a portion of the potable water it generates there.

In Jordan’s Economy Was Always Shaky. The Refugee Crisis Has Only Made Things Worse, which was published in the December 2016 issue, David Schenker explored the variety of challenges facing Israel’s eastern neighbor as it contends with the presence of Syrian refugees.

[Photo: shikun & binui / YouTube ]