"Sewage and a smell of feces": Bathers flee the Haifa beach

A large accumulation of seaweed at the Bat Galim beach in Haifa has been sparking complaints in recent days from residents and bathers about a pungent smell and difficulty entering the water. A resident of the neighborhood who lives opposite the beach says that the phenomenon has been going on for over a week and that the smells reach the residents' homes. The Haifa Municipality says that these are seaweed that washed up on the shore naturally and that the beach department is working to clear them.

In photos and videos taken at the beach, a dark and wide strip of seaweed can be seen accumulated along the waterline. Rafi, who documented what was happening at the beach, described:

"Horror, an unbearable stench, sewage and a smell of feces, it's such a shame."

Other visitors who arrived at the beach described a pungent smell, and some of them said they left the place.

According to a Bat Galim resident who lives opposite the beach and asked to remain anonymous, this is an unusual phenomenon compared to what she has known over the years. "I am a Bat Galim native. I know the sea and everything so well, and they tell me 'don't you remember? Every year it's like this', but absolutely not. What is happening this year is indescribable," she said.

According to her, the phenomenon has been going on for over a week. "We have a literal swamp. I look at the sea and see a handful of people, while in another year, at such a time, the beach would be bustling with people. It's impossible to enter, because you are entering swamps of seaweed."

The resident says that even in her home, located near the waterline, a pungent smell is felt. "It stinks. It's impossible to sit on the balcony. We are suffocating," she said. According to her, infrastructure works are being carried out in the area at the same time, and she also smells a scent that she identifies as a sewage smell. However, she emphasizes that she does not know if sewage reached the sea water. "I am not saying that sewage water is reaching the sea. I don't know. I am saying what I feel as someone who lives on the waterline. I smell a sewage smell along with seaweed."

A bather who arrived on Saturday afternoon with a group of about eight people, including children, described a similar experience. "The children settled down and started playing, and then we felt waves of a very strong and pungent smell of sewage," he said. "A kind of commotion started on the beach, people started packing up and leaving. It was a very unpleasant experience."

According to him, after about an hour, the group moved to the southern part of the beach, near the soccer fields, where the smell was less pungent. "When I approached the beach to take a picture, there was mud with seaweed and dirt," he said.

Similar testimonies were also published by other visitors. Avi, who was at the place, described: "It's impossible to stand here for one minute, they drove us out of the water with a stench that is unimaginable." Shiran said that her family left shortly after arriving: "We fled the beach with the children after five minutes because of this smell."

For the long-time resident, the fact that the phenomenon is happening precisely at the peak of the bathing season intensifies the frustration. "We are in the peak of summer. Soon it will be September and the sea will be over. A beach like Bat Galim and it's impossible to enter the water. It's just terrible."

The Haifa Municipality stated in response: "These are seaweed that washed up on the shore naturally, as part of processes occurring in the sea. The beach department is working these days, using the means at its disposal, in an attempt to clear the seaweed and reduce their accumulation on the beach as much as possible."