An end to the stench on Ashdod's beaches? The upgrade that is supposed to prevent the next hazard

Risks of odor and pollution hazards that have damaged the northern beaches of Ashdod are expected to disappear by 2029, the date set for the completion of the upgrade and expansion of the Timarim wastewater treatment plant in the Lachish region. This comes after the District Court in Lod gave legal force to a mediation agreement on the matter. Failed operation of the facility led to sewage being discharged from the treatment plant into the Lachish stream and washed out to the seashore for about half a year, from the end of 2018 until April 2026.

The mediation agreement signed last year requires the water corporation operating the treatment plant to carry out actions intended to allow the reception and treatment of double the amount of sewage from its current capacity. The arrangement was formulated following a class action lawsuit filed by beachgoers and surfers on Ashdod's beaches against the authorities responsible for the treatment plant. These are the Be'er Tuvia Regional Council, the Tamar water corporation, and Moshav Timarim. Attorney Idan Aidan from the Aidan-Tirosh firm filed the lawsuit on behalf of a group of residents who claimed that the pollution spilling from the reservoir reached the seashore while flowing in the Lachish stream and made spending time at the beach impossible due to the environmental nuisances caused to bathers and beachgoers. The Yuvalim Ashdod water corporation and the local authorities of Ashdod and Kiryat Malachi were also added as respondents to the petition.

The lawsuit claimed that the parties responsible for and managing the treatment plant did so in a negligent and deficient manner, which led to a ban by the Ministry of Health on using the reclaimed water produced from it for various purposes. Because of this, the reservoir filled to the limit of its capacity, and the sewage water overflowed into the Ela stream and from there into the Lachish stream, thus flowing all the way to the beaches of Ashdod. The result was that spending time on the city's northern beaches was prohibited, and water sports activities were also banned. In addition, this caused severe odor hazards. The plaintiffs claimed that by doing so, the authorities responsible for the treatment plant violated the Law for the Prevention of Marine Pollution and the Public Health Regulations.

The Be'er Tuvia Regional Council rejected the lawsuit, claiming that there is no connection between the reclaimed water that flowed from the facility and the fact that Ashdod's beaches were closed to activity, and that in any case, no environmental hazards or damages to beachgoers were caused by this, based on the opinion of an expert on sewage and water quality who was asked to check the matter. The T.M.R. corporation stated in its response that the responsibility for operating the facility was handed over to it in 2018, therefore it is not responsible for malfunctions that occurred before that year. It should be noted that later in the legal proceedings, the three defendant bodies requested to add Kiryat Malachi, Ashdod, and Yuvalim Ashdod to the bodies against which the lawsuit was filed.

As part of the mediation agreement, the T.M.R. corporation committed to investing all resources to increase the reservoir's capacity to 30,000 cubic meters per day and will also operate two additional reservoirs - one for receiving and treating 10,000 cubic meters and an emergency reservoir for receiving and treating 40,000 cubic meters per day.

The total cost of the works is estimated at 174 million shekels, which the corporation will budget in accordance with the budgetary approval of the Water Authority. It was also determined in the mediation agreement that all defendant parties will pay the plaintiffs a total initial sum of 200,000 shekels to cover legal expenses and personal compensation to members of the plaintiff group (50,000 shekels to each of the three people who filed the class action). It was also determined that the defendants will pay a total sum of 580,000 shekels as attorney fees. The arrangement also determines the share of each party and authority in the payments and the dates for transferring the money. The arrangement, which was formulated by attorney Elad Rosovsky, was submitted two years ago, and at the beginning of the week, the Central District Court in the city of Lod gave a verdict according to which it accepts it. Judge Iris Rabinovich-Baron gave it the force of a court verdict.

T.M.R., a regional water corporation, is a body shared by cities in the southern Shefela and the Lachish region: Ramle, Gedera, and Kiryat Malachi, as well as Moshav Bnei Ayish. The corporation operates a joint sewage reservoir called the Timarim treatment plant. The Ministry of Health banned the use of the facility's water for irrigation before the end of 2018 due to the poor quality of the water. This was caused by problematic, negligent, and failed management of the facility until the T.M.R. corporation took responsibility for it that same year. Because of this, the facility continued to receive sewage water without the ability to transfer it for use.

The reservoir filled up, and the water that accumulated in it began to overflow beyond its compound. It flowed into the nearby Ela stream and from there into the Lachish stream. The result was destructive and catastrophic. The water reached the northern seashore of the city of Ashdod, the place where the Lachish stream flows into the sea, and created a significant environmental hazard. Severe odor nuisances were felt at the site, and pollution accumulated in the sea and its estuary.

The Ministry of Health's response was immediate: the northern beach was closed to beachgoers and those engaged in water sports. Until then, the beach was a center of attraction for many bathers as well as surfers and athletes. Subsequently, various actions were carried out to clean up the pollutants, and the beach was reopened for bathing, but the risks of the return of the pollution remained.