Israel’s desalination crisis continued Tuesday morning as most of the country’s desalination plants were forced to shut down again only hours after resuming operations, prompting authorities to restrict water use for agriculture, public landscaping and other nonessential purposes.
Most of the facilities had restarted overnight after water conditions temporarily improved following Monday’s unusual shutdown. By Tuesday morning, however, seawater turbidity had risen again, forcing the plants to halt operations once more. The Water Authority and the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure instructed local governments to reduce public irrigation, agricultural water consumption and other municipal uses in an effort to preserve available supplies for households.
The latest setback follows Monday’s shutdown of five of Israel’s six desalination plants along the Mediterranean coast, with the Hadera facility the only one to remain operational. An overnight improvement in seawater quality allowed most of the plants to resume production, but the improvement proved short-lived.
The Water Authority stressed that residential water supplies are expected to continue. In areas where localized shortages or other problems develop, authorities plan to reduce other forms of consumption and address disruptions through the Water Authority’s operations center.
Meanwhile, investigators are beginning to identify what may have caused the highly unusual event. An initial investigation by researchers at the Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research institute points to a bloom of microalgae believed to have originated near Egypt’s Nile Delta and traveled northward with Mediterranean currents toward Israel’s southern coastline.
The buildup of microscopic algae, combined with turbulent sea conditions, apparently caused an extraordinary increase in the water’s turbidity, placing heavy strain on the filtration systems used by the desalination plants. The Water Authority has ruled out a cyberattack as the cause, while seawater samples have been collected for further analysis.
The effects of the shutdown were already being felt outside the desalination facilities on Monday. Mekorot increased production from available water sources and wells in an attempt to compensate for the sharp reduction in desalinated water.
In southern Israel, supplies of potable water for agricultural purposes were restricted. The Ramat HaNegev Regional Council temporarily halted agricultural water supplies altogether, while farmers and public landscaping officials in Eshkol were instructed to immediately reduce their use of potable water and rely on reclaimed water wherever possible.
Concerns over the disruption also reached several cities. In Yerushalayim, the Gihon water company opened locations where residents could fill water containers. Residents of Kiryat Gat were warned about possible changes in water pressure, temporary reductions in supply and intermittent outages, while Rishon LeZion also prepared for potential disruptions.
In its latest update Tuesday morning, however, the Water Authority again emphasized that maintaining uninterrupted household water service remains the priority. For now, conservation measures are being directed primarily toward agriculture, landscaping and nonessential public consumption.
The situation is particularly significant because of Israel’s heavy dependence on desalinated water. Desalination facilities provide a major share of the country’s potable water, meaning the simultaneous shutdown of most of the system requires greater reliance on alternative sources and careful management of existing supplies.
Authorities have not yet indicated when seawater turbidity will fall sufficiently for the affected plants to resume stable, continuous production. The developments overnight underscored the uncertainty of the situation: even after facilities are restarted, another deterioration in seawater conditions can force them offline again.
{Matzav.com}
