VZCZCXYZ0001
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHTV #1211/01 1581327
ZNR UUUUU ZZH (CCY AD9F1734 WSC0766-695)
P 061327Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7021
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM 9872

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 001211 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
C O R R E C T E D COPY CAPTION 
DEPT FOR NEA/REA and OES/ENV 
USDA FOR FAS/OCBD/DRDAD 
AMMAN FOR ESTH - BHALLA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV EAGR IS PA JO
SUBJ:  ISRAELI CABINET APPROVES EMERGENCY WATER PLAN 
 
Ref: (A) TelAviv 242  B) TelAviv 678 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY. The GOI approved new emergency actions on June 1 
to address the country's water shortage.  Agriculture was cut by 40 
percent in its allocation, and an extensive (and expensive) public 
conservation program was approved.  Major investments totaling 
billions of shekels over coming years in wastewater treatment and 
desalination capacity were announced.  An inter-ministerial team 
will now work on water issues in an effort to minimize the 
bureaucratic squabbles that have previously hindered Israeli 
efforts.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (U) Israel's cabinet approved the proposed emergency plan 
submitted by Infrastructure Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer to deal 
with Israel's water crisis.  The plan, prepared by the Israel 
Authority for Water and Sewage, addresses both short-term 
(2008-2009) and long-term measures required to ensure the quantity 
and quality of Israel's water supply until about 2020).  The plan 
has four main parts. 
 
¶3. (U) First, the emergency plan allocates NIS 120 million (USD 36 
million) to encourage water conservation.  These funds target both 
consumer practices and corporate users, in an attempt to encourage 
more effective water usage and thereby increase the overall 
availability of water in the short term.  Higher water fees - giving 
users the incentive to save water -- are another component of demand 
management, as is cutting water allocations for public gardens use 
by local authorities, cutting the allocation of national supply to 
the agricultural sector, and increasing inspection and enforcement 
activity. 
 
¶4. (U) Second, the emergency plan allocates NIS 915 million (USD 275 
million) to upgrade old and construct new plants to treat waste 
water over in the next five years.  Each cubic meter of water 
recycled is one less that must be pumped or desalinated.  This 
action covers short and medium term needs. 
 
¶5. (U) Third, the plan establishes the medium term goal of 
increasing the quantity of desalinated water in Israel to 750 
million cubic meters (mcm) a year: 600 mcm by 2013 and 100 mcm more 
by 2020. Today 138 mcm are desalinated in Israel between the 
Ashkelon and Palmahim plants, and 100 mcm more is under construction 
in the Hadera plant.  (This expands on the GOI decision made last 
August to increase the quantity of desalinated water to 505 mcm a 
year.) 
 
¶6. (U) Fourth, the action program establishes an inter-ministerial 
team to handle the actions proposed above efficiently and quickly, 
including implementing the needed statutory processes to build and 
expand the water infrastructure in Israel.  Heading the team will be 
the director of the State Authority for Water and Sewage.  Other on 
the team will be representatives of the Interior Ministry's Planning 
Administration, the Finance Ministry, the Israel Lands 
Administration, the Justice Ministry, and the National 
Infrastructure Ministry. 
 
¶7. (SBU) As post reported previously (reftels), the winter of 
2007-2008 was extremely dry and the average rainfall was about 65% 
of the annual average. The situation in the basin of the Sea of 
Galilee and in the mountain region is particularly bad -- the 
average rainfall there was less than 60% of the annual average.  The 
national water carrier Mekorot has ceased tapping the Sea since 
January, but its water level has risen by only six centimeters 
during the spring run-off period, and at the moment is at a level of 
less than half a meter above the red line - the level at which it is 
ecologically harmful to withdraw water.  Despite the probability of 
such a dry year coming on top of four straight years of drought 
being only 2%, i.e., once in 50 years, this is indeed what has 
happened.  This year the level of the Sea of Galilee will drop to 
almost a meter below the red line. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Comment: The inter-ministerial committee may be the most 
important feature of the emergency program, as bureaucratic 
confrontation is partly to blame for the present predicament.  In 
2001, expansion of desalination capacity was agreed on, but the 
Finance Ministry (supported by others) opted to delay allocating 
funds for it as that winter's rains were plentiful.  Getting 
Finance, Lands Administration, Infrastructure, and Justice behind 
the same policy will help speed implementation of desalination and 
gray-water treatment actions.  On June 1, the inter-ministerial 
tender committee asked the three desalination operators in Ashkelon, 
Palmahim, and Hadera to submit bids for expanding the plants. 
Previous bidding requests have been challenged on legal grounds that 
questioned the competitiveness and openness of favoring the existing 
operators.  Reportedly, a deputy to the accountant general in the 
Finance Ministry did thorough staff work to examine the economic, 
legal, engineering and statutory aspects necessary to carry out the 
decision.  Avoiding bureaucratic delays will be key to accomplishing 
the objectives of the water action program. 
 
JONES