The level of Lake Huleh has dropped about 20 percent since the recent opening of a sluice gate across a channel from the lake to the Jordan River.
The operation was undertaken two weeks ago when an earthen bulwark across a new channel in the Jordan River was blasted away and the old channel was drained. The immediate reason for the opening was the necessity of obtaining enough water in the new channel to permit movement of floating equipment used on the Huleh drainage project. In addition, another dam across the southern end of the lake is to be closed soon to permit dredges to deepen the river bed at various points.
Meanwhile, the tremendous changes wrought by the loss of an estimated 5,000,000 cubic meters of water have caused concern among the communities and land owners on the lake front and along the northern portions of the Jordan River, whose deepening has necessitated the action. In some instances navigation of larger river craft has been halted, while in other areas settlements have been unable to obtain water because their piping systems no longer extend below the lake’s water level. The authorities have begun to work on projects for restoring the situation to normal.
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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.
