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The winter of 2024-2025 is shaping up to be one of Israel’s driest, yielding only 55% of the average national precipitation so far, the Government Water and Sewage Authority reported on Sunday. This dry winter has brought the water level of the Sea of Galilee, or Lake Kinneret, in Israel’s north to rise by merely 2 centimeters. Additionally, flow levels in the Jordan River are among the lowest recorded since 1960, according to a spokesperson for the authority.
This situation is comparable to the winter of 2009, which was the driest in a century. However, the previous winter of 2023-2024 was unusually rainy, with a 121% increase in rainfall over the multiannual average.
Israel consumes about 2.5 billion cubic meters of water annually. In recent years, its massive desalination project has reduced its dependency on rainfall. Israel now desalinates 650 million cubic meters of water each year, accounting for 80% of its drinking water, as discussed in a study by the Weizmann Institute of Science.
In 2022, Israel began replenishing the Sea of Galilee with desalinated water from the Mediterranean Sea, becoming the first country to use seawater to refill a natural lake. Furthermore, Israel purifies and recycles about 90% of the 600 million cubic meters that become waste and sewage water annually, which is significantly more than any other country, according to the Weizmann Institute.
“The Water Authority’s proper preparation, which includes strategic planning and intelligent management of water sources, allows us to continue to supply water to all the needs of the economy in a stable manner and ensures that the economy will not be affected by the dry winter in the immediate term,” Yehezkel Lifshitz, head of the Water Authority, told Channel 12.
“Options are being examined to increase water production and production capacity,” he added.
JNS.org | used with permission
