Full story
Turbidity Shuts Plants
Most of Israel’s desalination plants along the Mediterranean coast were shut down again on Tuesday, disrupting drinking water supplies and agricultural irrigation, after re-operating overnight, according to government statements and local media reports.
“Five of Israel's six desalination plants along the Mediterranean coast were shut down again on Tuesday”
The Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure said most plants were shut down again on Tuesday morning after re-operating overnight because extreme weather had increased seawater turbidity, making desalination difficult.
Global Times reported that the desalination stations went offline on Saturday due to high turbidity caused by microalgae carried to Israel’s southern coast by waves, and it said the Israel National Cyber Directorate stated the incident was not the result of a cyberattack.
Israel National News said exceptional weather conditions caused severe turbidity in the seawater and led to the temporary shutdown of desalination plants located south of Hadera, prompting residents in the Judaean Foothills and southern Israel to prepare for the possibility of water outages.
Cyber Fears Denied
Israel National News said the shutdown prompted concerns about the possibility of a cyberattack, but an industry official clarified that “this is not a cyber incident.”
The same outlet added that Israel’s National Cyber Directorate said numerous Iranian attempts to attack Israel’s water sector are recorded as part of the daily emergency routine, while stressing that “significant harm in the cyber domain" had been prevented.
In Jerusalem and Be’er Sheva, i24NEWS reported residents faced low water pressure and localized outages, while the Mei Givatayim water corporation said, “Problems in the national water-supply network are continuing, and there is currently no estimate for a return to normal service.”
i24NEWS also quoted Energy and Infrastructure Minister Eli Cohen describing the event as an unusual natural phenomenon not seen in Israel for two decades, and it said he warned that the phenomenon “forced most desalination facilities to shut down.”
Agriculture and Food Stakes
As desalination disruptions continued, CTech reported the shutdown was threatening approximately 20,000 dunams of vegetable crops in Nitzana near the Egyptian border, where dozens of farmers rely on desalinated water for 80%-90% of their supply.
“approximately 20,000 dunams of vegetable crops in Nitzana”
CTech said farmers were entering a critical stage requiring approximately 1,500 cubic meters of water per hour for irrigation, while Mekorot was supplying only 300-500 cubic meters per hour Tuesday morning.
Er an Doron, head of the Ramat Negev Regional Council, told Calcalist, “If water is not pumped in the coming hours, like injecting oxygen into a patient, the entire season will collapse,” and he warned that “There will be no vegetables, the cost of living will rise, and dozens of farming families will enter a huge economic crisis.”
Ynetnews reported that Dr. Natalie de Falco said the event demonstrated both the strength and the vulnerability of Israel’s system, and she warned that concentrating so much drinking-water production in a handful of large facilities creates a significant point of vulnerability.