More than two weeks after a severe algae bloom forced most of Israel’s desalination network offline, recovery remains incomplete. According to Israel’s Energy Ministry and Water Authority, none of the five plants shut down in late August — Ashkelon, Ashdod, Sorek A, Sorek B and Palmachim — have returned to full operation, while the Hadera plant, the only station the bloom never reached, continues running at capacity as it has since the crisis began.
Officials say the affected stations have ordered additional reverse-osmosis membranes as a precaution against further damage while output is ramped back up, but they have not given a timeline for a full return to capacity. The Water Authority says household and agricultural supply has not been interrupted, a pattern consistent with the priority given to protecting drinking water throughout the disruption, even as it drew heavily on the Sea of Galilee and groundwater reserves to bridge the shortfall.
A slower recovery than earlier hoped
The update marks a more cautious picture than last week’s report that all six plants were back online after the Nile Delta-linked microalgae bloom first knocked five of them offline. Being back online has not meant back to full capacity: membrane fouling from the bloom was severe enough that officials have previously estimated repair costs across the affected sites could reach tens of millions of shekels, as detailed in earlier coverage of the crisis.
Desalination normally supplies the large majority of Israel’s drinking water, so a prolonged partial shortfall keeps pressure on the backup sources the country leaned on during the height of the disruption. With no restart date confirmed for the five affected plants, how quickly membrane replacement and repair work proceeds is likely to determine how long that pressure continues.
(Source: The Times of Israel)