Most of the desalination plants in Israel were shut down again this morning (Tuesday), after an attempt was made during the night to gradually restore them to operation.
According to a report on Channel 12, a turbid wave that arrived in recent hours from the coast of Egypt forced operators to stop work at almost all facilities along the Mediterranean Sea.
Supply to homes will continue, but there may be localized problems with water pressure.
Currently, the only facility that continues to operate as usual is the desalination plant in Hadera.
Despite high levels of turbidity in the water, the Ministry of Energy and the Water Authority have ordered one of the desalination plants to be operated. This means that millions in damage may be caused to the desalination plant, but the water should come out clean and without fear of contamination.
The malfunction, which lasted for many hours yesterday, resumed this morning and once again led to significant disruptions in the water supply.
The National Emergency Authority (NEA) issued a warning this morning about the possibility of disruptions and water outages in the Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, Ma'ale Adumim and Beit Shemesh areas. Residents in the city of Givatayim also received a notice that disruptions may occur in the coming hours.
According to a joint announcement by the Water Authority and the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, it was decided to reduce public gardening and agricultural activities, as well as to reduce the scope of public water uses.
The authorities emphasized that supply to homes will continue, but in places where there is a localized problem, the scope of activity will be reduced, while the Water Authority's operations center will handle it.
The consequences of the shutdown of the facilities have been felt since the early morning hours in the south of the country. Residents of Sderot received an update at 07:00 about low water pressure in the city, and the cessation of water supply for irrigation purposes.
The Water Authority stated that the turbidity is being examined, and that Mekorot is increasing the available production means.
The current crisis began yesterday, after weather conditions affected the quality of seawater and led to the cessation of operations of some desalination plants south of Hadera. Residents in the lowlands, center and south of the country were instructed to prepare for water outages, and in cities such as Givatayim, Jerusalem and Rishon LeZion, residents were asked to save water as much as possible and use it only for essential needs.
