JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel has halted pumping water from the Sea of Galilee.
Pumping from Israel’s main water source stopped Monday when the water level reached about 16 inches from the "black line," beyond which pumping is strictly prohibited.
Water instead is being pumped from Israel’s underground aquifers, which are also at dangerously low levels.
Rainfall in Israel this year has been at about half of its annual average. This month is on track to be the driest in the history of such records, according to Ha’aretz.
Water sources that flow into the Sea of Galilee, also called Lake Kinneret, are also at their lowest level ever.
Israel is in the midst of its fifth consecutive year of drought.
