Last update - 00:00 26/07/2007
Seven Sea of Galilee beaches close due to pollution, lifeguard dearth
By Eli Ashkenazi, Haaretz Correspondent
Seven Sea of Galilee beaches closed Thursday during the peak of the holiday season, four due to water contaminations and three others because of a lack of lifeguard services.
Health Ministry officials found contaminated water in the fresh water lake, also known as Lake Kinneret, for the third time this week, raising fears over the effect of pollution on this major source for drinking water.
The officials discovered off the lake's beaches large quantities of fecal colliform bacteria, which are believed to come from sewage spillages.
However, comprehensive searches on Thursday located no such leaks. The amounts of fecal colliform found this week are double the norm for beaches visited by bathers, which are allowed some 400 bacteria per 100ml of water.
While experts express concern over the increase in incidents of contamination, drinking water is not in fact expected to be affected - only the quality of water by the lake's recreational beaches.
The Health Ministry's national environmental health supervisor, Ze'ev Fisch, said this week, "To our great distress there are too many mishaps. We are asking the local authorities to maintain their sewage systems every year, that they check them and put defensive measures in place."
"There need to be removal and treatment arrangements for spillages, which will not just be called for when the sewage system collapses. We view the Kinneret not just as a place with beaches for swimming, but also as Israel's water reservoir, and all that this implies," Fisch said.
The officials found contaminated water on Thursday at Tiberias' beach as well as at the "Ganei Hemat" and "Sironit" beaches south of the city.
Health Ministry inspectors also discovered contaminated water off Kinneret beaches on Tuesday and on Sunday.
Following the discovery Tuesday, the Health Ministry warned the public against bathing in the waters, after which the Interior Ministry announced it would close the beaches.
On Sunday, the Health Ministry also closed two Lake Kinneret beaches for swimming, after the Tiberias municipality pumped sewage into the area.
A malfunction at the city's pumping station caused sewage to flow into the lake for what the ministry says was roughly one hour, polluting the two beaches.
This was the second time in recent months that the city's sewage has flowed into the lake and polluted nearby beaches.
Meanwhile, three other beaches: Amnon public beach, Oahlo and Jordan, were closed because they lacked lifeguard services.