Many of Israel’s lakes, riverbeds and aquifers are at unprecedented 100-year lows, with the Sea of Galilee dangerously close to its “black line,” the level below the intake pipes of the water pumps that send the lake’s water to nearby towns.
Israelis have not felt the current drought as acutely as past dry spells because Israel in recent years constructed five massive desalination plants on the Mediterranean coast that now provide some 70 percent of the country’s drinking water directly from the sea. The state also recycles some 86 percent of its waste water for agriculture. Two more desalination plants are in the planning stages.
But all these efforts may not be enough to keep the water flowing. In May 2018, the Water Authority rolled out a public ad campaign entitled “Israel is drying out” aimed at reminding Israelis that saving water at home is still important. To emphasize the point, the authority said if the drought continues for another year, it would start imposing limits on Israelis’ water consumption. According to Water Authority estimates, some 2.5 billion cubic meters of water are missing from the source reservoirs of the country’s natural water supply. The drought of the past six years has driven these reservoirs, and the streams that flow from them, to 98-year lows, according to the Times of Israel.
Pray and praise Him for showers during this coming rainy season: “Are there any among the idols of the nations that can cause rain? Or can the heavens give showers? Is it not You, O Lord our God? Therefore, we will wait upon You, for You have done all these things” (Jer. 14:22).
