And, if the ponds are placed on marginal farm fields, they could free up water that would not be used for farming. Loss of water and salt disposal will be true for just about any practical method used to remove salt. In addition to being highly saline, the Sea is highly eutrophic, meaning that it is full of nutrients. Nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, sulfates, and chloride are the most common chemicals entering the Sea. Nutrients, or eutrophic conditions, do not mean toxic.
Eutrophication is a natural process in all bodies of water as decaying matter accumulates.
In many lakes, including the Sea, the process gets speeded up by human activities. The high levels of nutrients foster the algae blooms. Algae bloom and die quickly. When they die, they pull oxygen from the water, often to levels that deprive the fish of life. Fish die-offs return nutrients to the Sea as they decompose, keeping the nutrient cycle going.