"A murky wave from Egypt": almost all desalination plants in Israel shut down again

Almost all water desalination plants in Israel were shut down again this morning. The reason for the shutdown is a murky wave that arrived from the shores of Egypt. The Water Authority has ordered a reduction in public gardening and agricultural activity. Supply to homes will continue, but there may be localized problems with water pressure.

Most of the desalination plants in Israel were shut down again on Tuesday morning, after an attempt was made during the night to return them to gradual operation. A murky wave that arrived in the last few hours from the shores of Egypt forced operators to stop work at almost all plants along the Mediterranean Sea. As of now, the only plant that continues to operate normally is the desalination plant in Hadera.

"In the last few hours, a murky wave arrived from Egypt and we stopped activity completely," explained an industry source.

The malfunction, which lasted for long hours yesterday, resumed this morning and led to significant disruptions in water supply. The National Emergency Management Authority published 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.

According to a joint statement by the Water Authority and the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, it was decided to reduce public gardening and agricultural activity, as well as to reduce the scope of public water usage. 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 being handled by the Water Authority's operations center.

The consequences of the plant shutdowns have been felt since the early morning hours in the south of the country. Residents of Sderot received an update about low water pressure in the city and about the cessation of water supply for irrigation purposes. The Water Authority noted that the turbidity is under investigation and that the Mekorot company is reinforcing available production means.

The current crisis began yesterday after weather conditions damaged the quality of the seawater and led to the cessation of operations of some of the desalination plants south of Hadera. Following the initial shutdown yesterday, concerns arose regarding a cyberattack on Israel's water infrastructure. However, industry sources and the National Cyber Directorate clarified that this is not a cyber incident but a malfunction caused by the turbidity of the sea.

In addition to the damage to domestic consumers, the situation led to a reduction in water supply for agriculture in the south, which caused great concern among farmers in the moshavim on the Egyptian border. Shai Kasa, a farmer from Kadesh Barnea, warned that the shutdown of the plants poses a threat to the country's food security and to investments of millions that could go down the drain.