2 desalination stations still shut down more than a week after algae forced closures

Eight days after all but one of Israel’s six desalination stations had to be closed because of marine algae, two — in southern Ashkelon and Ashdod — are still shut down, while another three — Palmachim and Soreq A and B — are still operating only partially.

The sixth, in Hadera, which is further north on the Mediterranean coast, is unaffected so far, and continues to function at full capacity.

Despite that, the Water Authority and the Energy, Water, and Infrastructure Ministry say in a joint statement that “system stability is being maintained,” with water supply to all residents and the agricultural sector continuing as normal.

This, the statement says, is thanks to the desalinated water that the working stations are able to produce, combined with additional pumping from the Sea of Galilee,”hundreds of drillings” into aquifers across the country, and reservoirs that were refilled over the weekend by the Mekorot water company.

The authority says it will order a bigger stock of reverse osmosis membranes to allow for replacement of the crucial piece of the desalination process, should existing ones at the affected stations be damaged by materials at sea.

Scientists at the Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research, a state research organization, are still sampling seawater to learn more about the algal blooms that threaten the sensitive membranes and have been traced to the Nile Delta.

Last week, the Water Authority dumped a cocktail of materials, including large quantities of copper sulfate, from the air along a nine-kilometer (5.6-mile) stretch of marine coastline in hopes of destroying the algae.

That prompted the Health Ministry to call for a temporary ban on fishing, which remains in effect.

The closure of five stations at once is unprecedented and led to water supply being temporarily suspended for southern farmers and for municipal services such as irrigation of gardens and parks.