Last update - 00:00 24/03/2007
Sewage pumped into Yarkon may seep into nat'l water carrier
By Zafrir Rinat, Haaretz Correspondent
According to data collected by the Yarkon River Authority, sewage water that was pumped into the clean segment of the river last week may seep into the national water carrier.
The test results, which the Yarkon River Authority submitted to the Environment Ministry over the weekend, indicate very high concentrations of germs in the river's water.
The contamination, which originated in the Raba stream, a creek of the Yarkon river, was discovered on Wednesday and has continued since.
It was caused by a malfunction in Rosh Ha'ayin and Kafr Qassem's joint sewage system.
The Rosh Ha'ayin municipality said the water was not sewage water, but rather collected rain water, but tests conducted by the Yarkon River Authority indicated a concentration of 12 million fecal coliforms per 100 mm of water - a concentration 60,000 times higher than the permitted concentration on 200 coliforms.
According to the report by the authority's ecologist, Yonatan Raz, large amounts of sewage overflow intermittently in the morning hours. The authority has constructed two dams to try to combat continued contamination, but these dams may collapse over time.
The Raba stream is not the only source of sewage malfunctions in the Yarkon River Basin. In recent years, sewage has also flowed into the river from the direction of Qalqiliya, through the Shilo stream.