Tel Aviv area beaches could become heavily polluted due to repairs being done to a cracked sewage pipe in the city.

The Dan Municipal Union for Environment and Sewage, a body responsible for the transfer of sewage across the Gush Dan area, has identified a crack in one of the main sewage lines in northern Tel Aviv. If the crack is not repaired, the pipe could collapse, spilling large amounts of sewage into residential areas. However, while the pipe is being repaired, the sewage would be spilled into the sea, causing large-scale pollution to area beaches.

The crack was discovered by divers checking the entire sewage system. The survey was ordered after one of the pipes exploded in Jaffa four years ago, pouring millions of cubic meters of raw sewage into the sea.

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Director of the environmental organization Tzalul attorney Yariv Abramovich accused the municipal union of failing to address the sewage problem effectively. "For years, they have been maintaining breakdowns, rather than preventing them," Abramovich said. "This problem should set alarm bells ringing at the Tel Aviv Municipality and the Environment Ministry. They must force a systematic solution on the union which will include a solution to the dangerous worn out pipelines."

Municipal Union Chairman Itai Pinkas replied "we have been alert and we have prevented a heavy environmental disaster. Now we are investing hundreds of millions of shekels in replacing sewage infrastructure in Gush Dan."

The fear of collapse surrounds a 300-meter long section of the pipe that was installed over twenty years ago. After identifying the crack, the union decided to immediately take steps to prevent collapse. The repairs are slated to begin this week.