Israel faces a severe water shortage and Israel’s largest freshwater body. Lake Tiberias, can be considered “empty” from the point of view of water supply according to an official of the Ministry of Agriculture. Lake Tiberias, also known as the Sea of Galilee, serves as a national reservoir.
Ephraim Shilo of the Agricultural Planning Division at the Ministry, said yesterday that because of Israel’s increased population, primarily in the cities, and anticipated industrial expansion, large agricultural areas would have to be “dried out” and water diverted to the cities and to industry. This year’s draught dangerously lowered the water level of Lake Tiberias, Shilo said, adding that foreseeable water resources would not meet increased consumption and that Israel would have to revert to desalinated water earlier than planned–within 10 years instead of 15 to 20 years.
Water Commissioner Menahem Kantor said that strict control would be imposed on water usage this summer and quotas for agriculture would have to be maintained. In addition, the Mekorot Water Co. has discontinued pumping lake waters into the national water system and is tapping wells instead. Similar measures have been introduced in local water systems. The Tel Aviv municipality has been instructed to prepare the city’s un-used wells for use this summer in the event of a cut-off of water from the national system.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
