Water restrictions continue into a second day as most Israeli desalination plants shut down again

Most of Israel’s desalination facilities shut down again Tuesday morning after a further rise in seawater turbidity, extending a national water disruption into a second day.

The Water Authority and the Energy and Infrastructure Ministry said the plants had operated overnight before stopping. Under instructions for the national water system, local authorities must reduce water use for public landscaping and agriculture and seek cuts in other public consumption.

Officials said supplies to homes would continue. In areas facing localized problems, authorities may impose further reductions while the Water Authority’s operations center handles individual disruptions.

The disruption began Monday, when five of Israel’s six desalination facilities were forced to close. Residents of Givatayim were warned that they could face lower water pressure or outages as the problems spread into central Israel.

Water Authority Director-General Yehezkel Lifshitz said severe seawater turbidity, which began over the weekend and moved from south to north, prevented the facilities from filtering water and operating normally. A message to residents urged them to conserve water and use it only for essential needs until normal operations resume.

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Following problems with the water supply in the national water network, disruptions to water supply may occur in the coming hours, including reduced pressure and water outages in certain areas. We ask the public to conserve water as much as possible and use water only for essential needs until normal operations resume.