Israel's Desalination Plants Resume Full Operation After Weekend Disruptions

Israel's water desalination facilities have returned to full operation after a significant disruption that began on Saturday, impacting five of the country's six major plants. The shutdown was caused by severe weather conditions that led to increased turbidity in seawater, preventing the plants in Ashkelon, Ashdod, Palmahim, and two in Sorek from functioning. The National Cyber Directorate clarified that the issue was natural and not a cyberattack.

Despite the widespread outage, water supply to households was maintained. However, restrictions were imposed on agriculture in the south, with water flow to farmers in the Ramat Negev Regional Council completely halted. Public gardening was also stopped nationwide, leading to the closure of beach showers and taps in Tel Aviv. Some localized supply disruptions were reported in Jerusalem due to depleted reservoirs.

Energy Minister Eli Cohen convened a special assessment meeting with officials from the Ministry of Energy, the Water Authority, and Mekorot. Following improvements in sea conditions, the Sorek plants were the first to resume full operations. Palmahim and Ashdod plants were expected to complete repairs and restart by Monday night. Mekorot announced that Jerusalem's water reservoirs were projected to be refilled by 10:00 PM Monday, restoring normal supply to the city.

The plants in Hadera and Eilat, along with 20 smaller Mekorot facilities, continued to operate throughout the incident.