Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Archaeologists have found ingenious water collection and irrigation systems going back to
pre-Roman times. During the British Mandate period, the perennial water shortage made au-
thorities doubt that the area could hold anywhere near the number of people who live there
today. Since 1948, there have been three main periods of drought: 1957-1963, 1989 -1991, and
1998 -2001. Israel's worst drought to date was in the winter of 1962 -1963, when a bit over
8 inches (20.6 centimeters) of rain fell— one-third less than usual in a low-rainfall year.
Prior to the 1990s, Israel's water requirements were met naturally. Since the start of the
1990s, however, water resources have dramatically worsened in quality and supply. At the cur-
rent level of usage, water resources cannot replenish themselves naturally. As demand for wa-
ter rises from Israel, the Gaza Strip, and the West Bank, and as agricultural, industrial, and
municipal needs grow, the supply is further reduced. High population concentrations, sew-
age, fertilizers, and poor environmental policies — like the excessive digging of wells in the
PA-ruled areas of the West Bank— also lead to salination and pollution of the natural under-
ground reservoirs.
Increasing populations and living standards meant that consumption exceeded Israel's wa-
ter production in 2000, although water use per capita in Israel is less than half that in southern
California, an area with similar climatic conditions. Low rainfall and several years of drought
have brought Israel's water defi cit at present to an estimated 70.6 billion cubic feet (2 billion
cubic meters). What Israel has to do — and in part has done — is to make maximum use of its
water resources, increase its agricultural productivity, recirculate waste water, conserve water,
and create new usable water from desalination.
Rainwater in Israel accumulates in three main places: the Sea of Galilee, the coastal aquifer,
and the mountain aquifer. Streams, underground water tables, and natural springs are also
used as freshwater sources, but drawing on them too much increases their salt content, dam-
aging the supply.
Sea of Galilee
The Sea of Galilee, or Kinneret, is a large lake in northern Israel with a surface area of 65 square
miles (168 square kilometers). This natural reservoir holds 141 billion cubic feet (4 billion cubic
meters) of water. Water is fed into the Sea of Galilee directly from the Jordan River. Other
streams from the surrounding mountain areas of Mount Hermon, the Golan Heights, the
Naphtali Mountains, and the Galilee Mountains also fl ow into the sea.
In 1964 an extensive network of pipes, canals, aqueducts, underground tunnels, and pump-
ing stations was put into operation to create Israel's National Water Carrier (NWC). This al-
lowed the Sea of Galilee's water to be used all over Israel, providing 25 percent of the country's
needs.
Because of overpumping from the Sea of Galilee in order to meet demand, a major effort
was launched to develop alternative water sources, including treated or reclaimed sewage wa-
ter, for farming and industries. The increase in these sources has gradually decreased Israel's
dependence on the Sea of Galilee's water for agricultural use, so the water of the Sea of Galilee
is primarily now for consumer use. Currently, Mekorot, the company in charge of the NWC,
provides 80 percent of Israel's drinking water from the Sea of Galilee and other sources.
