Israel’s Water Authority on Sunday issued a statement ahead of the end of the summer season, warning against the continued difficult situation of Israel’s water resources, following five consecutive drought years.
According to the authority, the water natural sources are “in the worst condition in years” and some of the streams are breaking negative flow records.
The Water Authority’s press release warns that even if the dryness stops and the coming year will see average rainfall levels, combined with the continued ban on pumping water from the Kinneret, the lake will still remain at below the lowest red line come next winter.
Today the water level in the Kinneret is 214.2 meters below sea level. Until the beginning of the rainy season, it is expected to continue to decline by one centimeter a day, and will probably reach the “black line,” below 215.5 meters, where no water pumping is even possible using current equipment.
And the Water Authority’s recent models for the autumn indicate a chance of yet another drought year.
The Water Authority believes that in a few days, the island which rose up from the deep as the lake water has been receding, opposite Kibbutz Ma’agan, is expected to be connected to the shore.
The severe drought that has plagued Israel in the past five years has mainly affected water sources in the north of the country. But all the other the water sources: streams, springs, and the aquifers, recorded a shortage of water on a historical scale. Today, the deficit in water resources is about 2.5 billion cubic meters.
The Water Authority attributes the lack of water to the planetary climate change.
“Climate change has been reflected in recent years in a series of extreme climatic events that have many effects on the water supply,” the authority said, recalling “a series of five years of drought on the one hand and floods that cause damage to property and, unfortunately, even to life, on the other.”
The Water Authority added: “Climate change requires all of us to manage wisely and prevent waste of water as a way of life, even in rainy years, which we hope and are sure will arrive. The Water Authority continues to prepare to respond to the increasing trend of dehydration in the entire region.”