Water authority israel

Israel’s freshwater balancing act: The Kinneret under strain

Intensive management has saved the Kinneret from crisis, but rising salinity and ecological change pose growing risks

|BySAM HALPERN
An aerial view of the Kinneret. To the casual observer, the lake, also known as the Sea of Galilee, appears to be a rare environmental success story in an era of climate uncertainty.
Israelis enjoy at the Kinneret, the Sea of Galilee, in northern Israel, during the Sukkot holiday, on October 13, 2025.

Lake Kinneret reaches dangerously low water levels as Israeli authorities decide to pump in water

The lake’s water level was measured at 213.19 meters below sea level.

|ByELI ASHKENAZI
The Ginosar shore.

Driest winter on record: Lake Kinneret sees rare February drop in water level

“Right now, this year is shaping up to be particularly dry. There hasn't been a year this severe since measurements began,” Dr. Eyal Zigel said.

|ByELI ASHKENAZI
An illustrative image of rainfall as seen from the window of a vehicle.

Current winter is one of the most arid in recent years, data shows

In the South, only 30% of the regular average was recorded so far this period.

|ByELI ASHKENAZI

Water NGO head: Crisis isn’t all the authority’s fault

‘Don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater,’ says Raanan Adin in response to the State Comptroller’s Report.

OCTOBER 28, 2018ByNATAN ROTHSTEIN
PEOPLE ON paddle boards float on Lake Kinneret in 2016. It is Israel’s major surface fresh-water source, now endangered.

Comptroller blasts short-sighted management of national water supply

"The Water Authority has implemented a short-sighted series of operations in the water sector," State Comptroller Joseph Shapira said.

OCTOBER 22, 2018ByEYTAN HALON
Pools of waste water are seen at a sewage treatment plant in town of Safed in northern Israel

Five-year drought brings Israeli water bodies to historically low levels

Today, the water level in the Kineret is -214.20m, dropping 1 cm a day

AUGUST 26, 2018ByCASSANDRA GOMES-HOCHBERG
A piece of land is seen in the Sea of Galilee

US politicians, European technicians stream toward Israeli-run water technology

“We are bringing together the heartland of America with the Holy Land, we are bringing both the Mideast and the Midwest together."

SEPTEMBER 12, 2017ByMAX SCHINDLER
Watec conference in Tel Aviv

Israel opens 13 km. pipeline to alleviate West Bank water shortage

The Water Authority and setters have also charged that Palestinian theft of water has depleted supplies.

AUGUST 15, 2017ByTOVAH LAZAROFF
SAMARIA REGIONAL COUNCIL head Yossi Dagan (left), Infrastructure Minister Yuval Steinitz (center) and Civil Administration officer Benny Elbaz inaugurate a 13-km. water pipeline in Samaria on Monday.

Palestinians, Israeli settlers running out of water in West Bank

“Today we are working in order to expand the capability of supplying water in all Judea and Samaria.”

JULY 19, 2017BySHARON UDASIN, TOVAH LAZAROFF
WATER TRUCKS are needed in the settlement of Shavei Shomron, west of Nablus.

Trump takes credit for 'vital' Israeli-Palestinian water deal

The deal will release 33 million cubic meters of water to the PA, relieving a serious shortage in the Palestinian territories.

JULY 13, 2017ByMICHAEL WILNER
U.S. President Donald Trump looks towards Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu while delivering an address at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem May 23, 2017.

Cross-border water pollution threatens Israeli security, watchdog says

EcoPeace: The state comptroller’s report presents “a scathing assessment of failure for more than two decades of Israeli government action and inaction.”

MAY 16, 2017BySHARON UDASIN
A Palestinian walks through a water pipe underneath the controversial Israeli barrier in al-Ram, on the edge of Jerusalem [File]

The rain that pays for itself

Jerusalem has approximately 896,112 sq.m. of roof space on public buildings, which could yield a water saving of 384,253 cu.m. annually.

MARCH 30, 2017ByMIMI KAPLAN
Years until the Savings Equals the Investment

Israel gives Pal. Authority limited water autonomy in West Bank

97 suspended projects for Palestinians can now move forward.

JANUARY 17, 2017ByADAM RASGON, TOVAH LAZAROFF, SHARON UDASIN
MAJ.-GEN. YOAV (POLY) MORDECHAI (left) shakes hands with Palestinian Authority Civil Affairs Minister Hussein al-Sheikh after agreeing to renew activities of the Joint Water Committee.