Subscribe to Print Edition | Thu., March 20, 2008 Adar2 14, 5768 | | Israel Time: 01:24 (EST+7) web haaretz.com   Back to Homepage Rosner's Domain Diplomacy Defense Jewish World Opinion National Print Edition Advertising Books Arts & Leisure Business Real Estate Easy Start Travel Week's End Anglo File

President of the National Water Authority, Shimon Tal. (Guy Ravitz) Last update - 17:32 19/03/2008 Water Authority: Israel must act to avoid humanitarian crisis By Zafrir Rinat, Haaretz Correspondent Tags: Lake Kinneret  Israel must carry out measures to reduce water use in order to prevent a humanitarian crisis, the General Secretary of the National Water Authority Professor Uri Shani said during a speech at the authority's fifth annual conference on Wednesday. Shani added that he is "afraid of what will happen in 2009 if we go on another year like this." The President of the National Water Authority, Shimon Tal accused Israel of failing to properly carry out initiatives meant to solve the country's growing "water crisis" over the past six years. Advertisement Tal said that in the past year, national desalinization plants have only produced a little over 130 million cubic meters of potable water, far short of the projected output of 350 million cubic meters. Tal added that the amount of treated wastewater has also been short by about 25% of the expected level. In statements made during a Knesset hearing on Tuesday, Tal warned that the water level in Lake Kinneret, Israel's largest freshwater source, is expected to reach the "black line," the level at which widespread ecological damage and salinization of the water will occur, making the drawing of freshwater from the lake impossible. By the end of next year, the Water Authority will operate a new, larger desalinization plant in Hadera, according to Tal, who added that the plant will not however be able to compensate for the lower level of precipitation that has reached national water sources in recent years. The head of the water authority for the Palestinian Authority, Fadel Kawash, stated that the water situation in the Gaza Strip had reached "catastrophic" proportions, due to the over pumping and pollution of underground aquifers in the Strip. Kawash stated that three quarters of the available freshwater in the Gaza Strip is too salty to be used for drinking water and that the only freshwater safe to drink is available only in the areas of the Gaza Strip Israel controlled before the Gaza Disengagement in 2005 Bookmark to del.icio.us   Good Avraham Hunting An ex-security guard solves a problem that has baffled mathematicians for decades. A better place Some 2,400 African refugees have entered Israel via Egypt since January.   1.   So in the end everybody needs everybody in the ME 17:29  |  Mark B. 19/03/08   2.   Desalinisation 18:24  |  zB 19/03/08   3.   The Israeli Water Authority has come to an 18:55  |  Kris Lazar 19/03/08   4.   Israel Should Overproduce Water, Sell Surplus To Jordan 19:00  |  Ovadiah ben Avraham 19/03/08   5.   zB 19:10  |  Mark B. 19/03/08   6.   zB (2) 19:12  |  Mark B. 19/03/08   7.   Why Gaza water is ruined 19:17  |  Burned Liberal 19/03/08   8.   Water 19:26  |  Leon 19/03/08   9.   # 4 19:47  |  Axel 19/03/08   10.   Palestinians destroy everything they touch. 20:13  |  Steven 19/03/08   11.   Israeli Arabs 21:07  |  Clickfool 19/03/08   12.   watershortage 21:13  |  Butch 19/03/08   13.   Every wondered why the Saharah is in Arab land ?EOM 21:16  |  Stan 19/03/08   14.   Water shortage 2 21:18  |  Butch 19/03/08   15.   Israel risks being desert in 30 years. 21:22  |  Michael 19/03/08   16.   Burned Liberal: Why Gaza water was ruined. 21:55  |  Canderra 19/03/08   17.   Spare, spare and spare. (And let winter rains come). 21:55  |  Fortuna Benmayor 19/03/08   18.   We ourselves are to blame 22:29  |  Arv 19/03/08   19.   What would happen if... 23:11  |  Veritas 19/03/08   20.   Zionizing is a shitty business, flushing milk and honey down 23:14  |  Andreas 19/03/08   21.   The inevitable outcome ... 00:13  |  Axel 20/03/08   22.   17 - a little knowledge is dangerous .. 00:53  |  redmike 20/03/08   23.   My post to 17 was meant for 16 ... sorry 00:55  |  redmike 20/03/08   24.   Clickfool wants to ruin the world out of hatred 01:36  |  Jeroen de Jager 20/03/08   25.   bloggers from Europe: you are brainwashed 06:23  |  Darren Smith 20/03/08   26.   Rationing water should be a special law sounds serious 01:18  |  M. S. 21/03/08

Today Online Yesha rabbi: Jewish law forbids renting houses to Arabs Responses: 231 Palestinian Americans warned of security profiling at B-G Airport Responses: 179 Bin Laden tape: Iron and fire needed to liberate Palestine Responses: 96 Egypt agrees to take over as Gaza power supplier Responses: 102 Abe Foxman: Anti-Semitism is not just a Jewish problem Responses: 45 Rosner's Domain There's no need for American pressure on Israel Obama and the psychological complexities of American Jewry (WTR) Poll: Mideast summit in Moscow, a good idea? Was Shakespeare a Jewish Woman? (WTR) Rosner's Mailbox: Women in the pulpit? been there, done that More Headlines 01:11 14-year-old boy hurt in terror attack near Hebron 23:55 PM says worried Russian arms will reach Hezbollah 22:19 Bin Laden tape: Iron and fire needed to liberate Palestine 21:27 Jewish group seeks to purge YouTube of anti-Semitic videos 21:27 Israeli ex-security guard solves 38-year-old math problem 15:40 Rocket damages Negev house; Medics: IDF kills Gaza civilian 19:40 Ariel teen seriously wounded by explosion in his house 00:52 In surprise move, Fischer to increase foreign currency reserves 18:59 Fatah delegates to leave Yemen without Hamas deal 18:20 Health Ministry to vaccinate health workers against measles 17:00 Some 2,400 African refugees have entered Israel this year 18:38 Abbas' sons sue Channel 1 for reporting they own cellphone company Previous Editions Select Day 20 mar 19 mar 18 mar 17 mar 16 mar 14 mar 13 mar 12 mar 11 mar 10 mar 09 mar 07 mar

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