The Mekorot Water Company, which was established in 1937 by the Jewish Agency, Jewish National Fund and the Histadrut’s “Nir” group, today announced that it has prepared a three-year plan which, in its initial stage, would cost 96,000,000 Israel pounds and would increase agricultural output by an estimated $47,000,000. Mekorot’s plan calls for continuation of the Kishon reservoir, pushing through another Yarkon-Negev pipeline, and a number of smaller regional projects.
At the same time, Israel would have to increase its power production, since the water scheme would require greater power production than is now available. In order to continue the national plan for the utilization of Jordan waters in the Negev, pipes larger than the 66-inch Yuval Gad pipe now used would be needed. Thus, the plan calls for construction of a plant at Benjamina, south of Haifa, for the production of 108-inch pipes.
According to the Mekorot planners, completion of their plan in three years would permit Israel to exploit half of its water potential–estimated at 1,850,000 cubic meters annually.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
