"We were prepared, we deserve a grade of 8": Water Authority director responds to the algae failure and embarrassing quotes

If you read the statement from the Ministry of Energy and the Water Authority published this morning, you might think that the great algae crisis is already behind us. "The water sector is in full stability," the headline reads, and it goes on to promise that "water supply to all residents and the agricultural sector continues as usual and without any restrictions." A little more and one could have opened a bottle of champagne.

The joy displayed by the Authority does not really correspond with reality. As of now, only the Ashkelon facility is working at full capacity, while Sorek 1 and Palmachim are working at half capacity. This is still very far from the normal operation of the five desalination plants that were shut down following the accelerated algae bloom, and it seems that the crisis caught the Water Authority and the Ministry of Energy unprepared. Since it broke out, they have been busy putting out fires, trying to find solutions on the fly, and above all, calming the public.

Admittedly, almost all citizens of Israel had drinking water throughout the crisis, and that is good. In a few localities where the taps ran dry, water was supplied via tankers for several days. But those who paid the heavy price were the farmers. For long days they saw their fields drying up before their eyes, stood before them helpless, and did not know when they would be able to return to irrigate them.

Yesterday, the fishermen in the Ashkelon area and southwards also joined the victims. Following the attempt to spray the algae in the sea, they were forbidden to fish until Monday. The Ministry of Health says that the ban was imposed as a precautionary measure, until the monitoring results are received in the area where the substances were dispersed.

Perhaps the moment that illustrates more than anything how much the crisis surprised the system is found in a recording from its beginning that was published on Channel 13. Dani Laker, director of the Emergency Division at the Water Authority, is heard saying: "This has been happening for over 12 hours, those who wear a kippah should pray hard that this sequence continues. We are unable to understand what is happening in the algae story, the algae is unknown, it has not been in the country for at least 30 years. The expectation was that the algae would sink or flow with the water."

In the gap between the current statements about a stable water sector and the prayers of the Authority's people at the beginning of the event, lies a crisis that is far from over. Yehezkel Lifshitz, director of the Water Authority, rejects the claim that the system was caught unprepared and argues that the very fact that the drinking water supply was barely affected proves its strength. In an interview with Walla, he explains what happened in the first days, why it took time to understand the scope of the event, what is behind the spraying in the sea, and how the water sector will function if next time it has to deal with an Iranian cyberattack.

"The very fact that the water supply was barely affected, except for a specific problem for farmers in Ramat Negev. There is no farmer whose farm dried up, and apart from that, there were almost no malfunctions in drinking water. And that is the strength of the water sector. One must also take into account that this is an extremely exceptional event. Since they started monitoring sea water 30 years ago, such an event has not been seen, and certainly since we started operating the desalination plants 21 years ago. Every year there is an algae bloom, but not on this scale."

There is a feeling that this event fell on you by surprise, as if you were not prepared for a crisis of this magnitude, and as evidence, the quotes from the meeting where the Authority's people were heard being completely hysterical.

"We were prepared for a scenario of a significant shutdown of desalination plants. Definitely yes."

Two days passed until the water sector returned to partial functioning. The farmers could not get answers, and certainly not water.

"It took time to understand the scope of the event. In normal days, there is a shutdown of desalination plants frequently and intermittently, but it has never happened that all the plants stop working at once."

So what will happen if there is a cyberattack? After all, even then all the plants will be shut down at once.

"I tell you honestly, that the situation where five desalination plants are shut down together is unprecedented. What you heard from the meeting, these are things that apparently someone from the corporations leaked, and I regret that. But I repeat and say, the water sector functioned very well. We pulled ourselves together within a few hours, and not within a few days."

If the state had not privatized all the desalination plants and kept one or two plants in its hands, you would not have had to beg the private owners of the plants to operate them when the water is murky and to act faster.

"I do not agree with that. All the desalination plants entered into operation when it was possible. I only remind you that there was another desalination plant that was in the hands of the state and was not managed well, and therefore was sold. I want to emphasize that we started supplying water from boreholes and from the Kinneret relatively quickly. The Ministry of Health approved the temporary opening of boreholes that were closed by it, while increasing monitoring, and it is possible that at the end of the crisis they will be closed again. There is no taking a health risk here."

But according to the statement issued by the Ministry of Health, there is a health risk to fish in the sea in the Ashkelon area and southwards. A statement was issued that it is forbidden to fish until Monday. Did you know that the substance for algae control is dangerous? You were accused of not announcing the spraying and that you took an unnecessary risk.

"They referred us to the company Blue Green, which performs spraying against algae in water bodies around the world. We convened a meeting with the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the Treasury, the Ministry of Health, and the Oceanographic and Limnological Research Institute, and asked them to present to us how it works. We debated where to apply the substance, whether near the facility in Sorek or specifically in the south of the country near Ashkelon, which is closed, because the values there were high. We said that if it has a positive effect, we will continue to carry out such exterminations."

Did you know that there is a risk in these substances?

"The spray planes were already in the air, but I stopped them until the authorized approval was received from the 'Committee for Permits for Dumping at Sea', of which I am not a member. When the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Ministry of Health received all the approvals that there is no poison in these substances and no harm to fish is expected, the planes set out on their way. The warning issued by the Ministry of Health for a fishing ban is for caution only."

If it is not toxic, then why is it necessary to warn and prevent fishing until Monday?

"That should be asked of them. I am not authorized to answer that."

What grade would you give the Water Authority for managing the desalination plant crisis?

"My first inclination is a grade of 8 because in the end, the water supply continued as usual. It is clear that there is room for improvement and we will do so."