Water-Scarce Israel to Draw Mediterranean Seawater Through Pipeline

Israeli soldiers are conducting military training on the Golan Heights, which borders Lebanon and Syria, on the 16th (local time).

Israel, where lakes have dried up due to the climate crisis, has decided to draw seawater from the Mediterranean Sea for use.

According to CNN on the 19th (local time), Israeli authorities plan to install a 31 km long pipeline with a width of 1.6 meters to transport Mediterranean seawater not only to Lake Galilee but also to agricultural and industrial sites and other places in need of water.

The seawater will first undergo a desalination process to remove salt.

This pipeline, which cost $264 million (approximately 350 billion KRW) to install, can transport 120 million cubic meters of seawater annually and is expected to be operational within a few months.

Currently, the water level of Lake Galilee is at an all-time low. Despite the ban on drawing water from Lake Galilee due to drought, the lake's water level remains at its lowest, CNN reported.

The economic site Trading Economics predicted that Israel will receive only 22.80 mm of rainfall by the end of this year. This is significantly less compared to the 247.70 mm recorded last year and 374.25 mm in 2020.