Water Authority: Israel is rapidly losing its water sources

[bemildred]

Israel will soon be unable to use a considerable part of its natural water sources, the Water Authority warns, because of the deteriorating quality of ground-water reserves, exacerbated by reduced rainfall due to climate change.

Most of the water in the Coast Aquifer, one of Israel's two main ground-water sources, is below the standard for potable water, according to a recent report by the Water Authority's Hydraulic Service. The report analyzed the water's quality on the basis of recommendations for drinking water made by a team of experts headed by Professor Avner Adin.

Most of the committee's recommendations, which have not been anchored in legislation yet, are more strict than the former standards. The Hydrological Service recommends reducing the water drilling from the West Mountain Aquifer (the other major freshwater source, which also provides water for the Palestinians) by one tenth and to be prepared for increased water drilling on the Palestinian side.

It also recommends to stop pumping more water than the rainwater entering the ground water reserve in the Coast Aquifer, which provides almost one third of Israel's water consumption. Instead it urges creating alternative water sources, such as desalination.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/952155.html