Language
Country/Area
No result found
Where does the water go from the Lake of Galilee? Discover the mysterious paths of the National Waterways!
Israel’s National Water Carrier is the country’s largest water conservancy project. Its construction began in 1953 and was completed in 1964. The main purpose of this project is to transfer water from the Lake of Galilee in the north to the densely populated center and arid south, in order to achieve more efficient use of water resources and control of water supply. This waterway is about 130 kilometers long and can transport up to 72,000 cubic meters of water per hour, which is equivalent to driving 1.7 million cubic meters of water to all parts of the country every day.
National waterways are composed of a variety of systems including giant pipelines, open canals, tunnels, reservoirs and large pumping stations.
Historical background
Planning and Construction
In the early days of the founding of Israel in 1948, there were already early designs for national waterways. However, detailed plans were gradually refined after independence. The original plan was called the Jordan Valley Unified Water Resources Plan. The entire project was designed by Mekorot, Israel's national water company. It has experienced considerable challenges and changes from the beginning of construction to completion.
Agriculture, drinking water and relations with Jordan (1964-1990s)
When the National Waterway was opened in 1964, 80% of the water was used for agriculture and 20% was used for drinking water. But over time, demand for drinking water continued to grow, and by the 1990s, national waterways provided half of Israel's drinking water. The reason for this change is mainly due to Israel's rapid population growth and rising living standards.
According to the 1994 Israel-Jordan peace treaty, Israel also provides Jordan with 50 million cubic meters of water per year.
After 2015 (after large-scale seawater desalination)
With the Israeli government’s extensive investment in water reuse and desalination infrastructure in 2016, dependence on the nation’s waterways has been significantly reduced. As of 2016, water from the Lake of Galilee has supplied only about 10% of drinking water needs, and it has been decreasing year by year.
Water route
The water in the national waterway first enters through a pipeline several hundred meters long that dives into the northern part of the Lake of Galilee, then passes through some major pumping stations and reservoirs, and finally flows to the water network of the entire country. This water pipeline passes through multiple natural terrains and is equipped with multiple water pumping and water passing structures to ensure water flow efficiency.
Water from the Lake of Galilee is first pumped to a pumping station called "Sapir" and finally transported through a 108-inch pipeline to the Yarkon-Negev water system east of Tel Aviv.
Proposals for other water resource plans
During the establishment of the National Waterways, several other proposals were put forward, including the Herzl Plan, the Hayes Plan, and the Johnston Plan. These plans, each with its own focus, aimed to solve the water shortage problem in Israel and surrounding areas, but they failed to materialize for various reasons.
Tense relations with neighboring countries
The construction of waterways has led to increasingly serious water disputes between Israel and Syria and Jordan. Since Israel began to divert water from the Jordan River into national waterways, it has triggered competition and opposition to water resources from neighboring countries, and even led to military conflicts.
The retreat of the Dead Sea and its impact
The surface of the Dead Sea has shrunk by about 33% since the 1960s, in part due to reduced inflows from the Jordan River. The ecological environment of this area has been severely affected by competition for resources, even leading to the continuous formation of sinkholes and other geological phenomena.
As of 2021, the annual amount of water flowing from the Jordan River into the Dead Sea has reduced to less than 100 million cubic meters, compared with the previous annual inflow of 1.2-1.3 billion cubic meters.
With the gradual depletion of water resources and the deterioration of the ecological environment, are there other ways to alleviate and solve the water resources problems in this land?
