In the second episode, Mekorot’s Vice President of Development, Eyal Ben David, outlines the new map of Israel’s water sector. Israel, it turns out, is a unique technological island managing three water sources simultaneously: the Sea of Galilee, the aquifer, and desalination facilities. “Desalination has completely transformed the sector’s worldview,” Ben David says. Whereas water once flowed from north to south, the system today is a complex, flexible network transporting water from west to east and to every corner of the country.
Ben David reveals that the company is already planning for 2050, with massive projects to connect regions that until now have remained disconnected from the national grid such as the Jordan Valley, the Golan Heights, and the Arava. “It makes no sense for peripheral regions to rely on a single water source,” he says, detailing projects to lay enormous pipelines – “pipes a person can stand upright inside” – to ensure supply reliability under any scenario.
The episode offers a rare glimpse into the challenges posed by the “Swords of Iron” war, including severe manpower shortages due to widespread reserve duty, the requisitioning of contractors’ heavy engineering equipment for military use, and even Turkey’s boycott of pipe exports. All of these forced Mekorot to find creative, real-time solutions. “Nothing will stop this country when it understands that this is a strategic event,” Ben David emphasizes, noting that despite the obstacles, the company met all its operational targets for 2024.
Another painful issue is bureaucracy. Ben David describes a reality in which local interests delay national infrastructure projects, forcing the company to shift toward nationwide planning frameworks to bypass obstacles. The crown jewel of current development is the new Shafdan project, which will transport reclaimed wastewater from the Dan region to the western Negev, a critical initiative for rehabilitating agriculture in the Gaza Envelope after the war.
This article was written in cooperation with Mekorot.