Rains, Floods Force Israel to Clean Up Many River Areas

Occasionally, a catastrophe turns out to be a blessing in disguise.

During the winter of 1992, record-breaking rainfall and violent snowstorms caused many rivers to overflow into residential areas.

Entire neighborhoods were flooded, and several people lost their lives.

At the time, the disaster cost the country more than a billion dollars in ruined farmland and destroyed property.

Yet last year’s disastrous flooding did have one positive consequence: It alerted the government and ordinary Israelis to the plight of the nation’s rivers, which have become overgrown and polluted through decades of neglect.

“It’s ironic, but the flooding really got the ball rolling,” said environmentalist Aviva Harari.

“People were forced to wake up and ask why the rivers couldn’t handle the extra water,” she said.

“It’s amazing how the flood focused public attention on the rivers and the problems of water pollution — something environmental groups have been trying to do for years, without much success,” said Harari.

Harari, who heads a project designed to clean up the Lachish River in the coastal city of Ashdod, attributed the lack of awareness to the fact that “since founding the state, Israelis have been preoccupied with security and building up the land. Other things simply took priority.

“Until the flooding, the nation’s rivers were largely ignored. Over the years they became clogged with overgrown plant life and sediment.

“They also became the dumping ground for tons of sewage from private citizens and industrial plants. Any way you look at it, the result was a disaster,” Harari said.

Stunned by the extent of the damage — which cost the Treasury more than a $100 million in insurance payments to stricken farmers and other flood victims — the government scrambled for ways to shore up the rivers and avoid a similar scenario the following winter.

RIVERS GETTING MORE UNHEALTHY

The government called on municipalities, the Jewish National Fund and various environmental groups to help assess the extent of the problem and to come up with solutions.

As soon as the rains stopped in the spring of 1992, scientists began taking water samples from rivers around the country, while engineers devised strategies to widen the rivers and raise their banks.

“What we found was an unhealthy river system getting more unhealthy by the minute,” said Yigal Seligman, a JNF environmentalist in charge of revitalizing the Kishon River in Haifa.

“In addition to an accumulation of tree branches and mud, we found the bigger problem of industrial plants dumping chemicals and other waste into our water supply.

“Water is a vital resource everywhere, but it’s especially scarce in Israel, and it’s a crime to pollute the little water we do have,” said Seligman. He said that most of Israel’s rivers are moderately polluted but still sustain plant and animal life.

But there are some spots — notably along the Kishon and Lachish rivers — where life has ceased. This could soon change, thanks to a joint effort by government and private bodies to clean up the rivers.

For the past 18 months, JNF bulldozers have been clearing away rotting debris and tons of mud in a half-dozen rivers, allowing the water to run more freely.

As a result, the banks have been raised and the riverbeds widened.

ENVIRONMENTALISTS SEEK ENFORCEMENT OF LAW

At the same time, environmental activists have been lobbying against industrial waste disposal, calling on legislators to enforce anti-pollution laws already on the books.

While the status of the rivers is far from optimal, there has been some improvement.

Two years ago, Tel Aviv’s Yarkon River overflowed its banks and caused extensive damage to residential property.

Since an intensive cleanup program, during which the Yarkon was dredged and widened, the river no longer overflows, and much of the surrounding area has been transformed into a national park.

Showing a visitor around the newly opened site, which boasts freshly cut grass, picnic tables and a fishing hole, JNF project supervisor Yossi Rotlain said, “This area was once used for dumping. Now, nearby companies are cooperating with us to find alternative ways to dispose of waste.”

Though the water “isn’t 100 percent clean,” said Rotlain, “I’d certainly eat the fish.”