Energy Minister Eli Cohen: "The water sector is expected to return to full operation in the coming hours"

"The water sector is expected to return to full operation in the coming hours," said Minister of Energy and Infrastructure Eli Cohen this evening, Wednesday, at a press conference convened following the crisis at the desalination plants.

According to Cohen, water consumption in the sector stands at about 20,000 cubic meters per hour, while currently about 35,000 cubic meters per hour are being produced.

"Since yesterday evening there is already enough production for the entire sector, and now we are filling reservoirs," he said.

In response to a question, Cohen addressed the risk taken in resuming the operation of the plants, against the backdrop of concerns that high turbidity in the seawater would cause damage to the desalination systems.

"Operating the desalination plants was indeed risky, but now, 24 hours into the resumed operation, it does not appear that there is any damage," he said. According to him, the return to operation is being done gradually: "We are operating the plants in a controlled manner. Even when a plant is operating, at the moment it is only part of it, in order to reduce the risk of damage."

Chairman of the Water Authority, Yehezkel Lifshitz, said that the state has taken upon itself the economic risk involved in restarting the plants.

"We received from the Ministry of Finance an indemnity letter for any damage that may be caused to the desalination plants, so the companies will not have to fear restarting the plants," he said.

The crisis began following abnormal turbidity in the seawater, which led to the shutdown of five of the six largest desalination plants along the Mediterranean coast. The turbidity was caused by an abnormal algae bloom originating in the Nile region. The desalination plant in Hadera was the only one that continued to operate fully throughout the crisis.

Later, the Sorek 1, Sorek 2, and Palmachim plants returned to partial operation, adding together about 20,000 cubic meters of water per hour. Their operation was approved despite the concern that the turbidity would damage the membranes used in the desalination process, with the state committing to indemnify the plant operators in the event that damage was caused.

At the same time, water supply to farmers in the Nitzana area was renewed, after its cessation put about 20,000 dunams of vegetable crops at risk. The event illustrated the growing dependence of the Israeli water sector on desalination: the simultaneous shutdown of most of the plants did not affect the supply of drinking water to homes, but required reducing other uses of water, including the irrigation of public gardens and supply to some farmers. Ministry of Energy Director General Yossi Dayan defined the event as unprecedented and said that the phenomenon that affected the plants had not been known to experts in recent decades.