Israel’s water situation has its ups and downs

Dead Sea loses 1.5 meters since last October, Kinneret highest in five years.

The Dead Sea is sinking fast. Over the last year the level of salty inland sea has gone down by 1.5 meters (over 4.5 feet), the sharpest decline in its recorded history, according to the October-to-October annual report of the Water Authority's hydrological service, published today. On the other hand, Lake Kinneret – the country's main fresh-water reservoir -- has had its best year since 2004, and for the first time in five years the lake's level has not descended beneath the lower red line below which pumping is dangerous.

Aerial view of the Dead Sea. Photo by Gil Cohen-Magen

Last year was good for the Kinneret in two ways. First it was relatively rainy, by Israeli standards, and second, desalination of seawater in plants along the coast reduced the need to pump from the lake. As a result, the quantity of Kinneret water pumped into the National Water Carrier was reduced by 5 percent.

On October 1, the Kinneret was one meter and 10 centimeters higher than it was on October 1, 2011. The bad news is that the situation of the Dead Sea, which has virtually no sources of natural water, is worsening. Dams built by Israel, Jordan and Syria have cut off all the sea's main water sources, including the Kinneret and the Yarmuch River, the main tributary of the Jordan in the sector that connects with the Dead Sea.