Dead Sea Works ordered to pay millions for brackish well water pumped out since 2017

The High Court of Justice rules that the ICL company’s Dead Sea Works must pay for the brackish water pumped from wells within its mineral concession, finding that the groundwater is not covered by an agreement exempting it from paying for water removed from the Dead Sea itself.

The environmental advocacy organization Adam Teva V’Din, which petitioned the court together with the crowd-funded civil society lobby Lobby 99, estimates that the company will have to pay some NIS 500 million ($154.2 million) for water extracted from 2017 until its franchise expires in 2030.

The petition was filed after the Justice Ministry ruled in 2022 that the brackish well water had the same status as water pumped from the Dead Sea and exempt from water fees as part of the lease.

Now, the court says in its ruling, “The use of water by the Dead Sea Works in the concession area is not covered by the royalty regime. This means that it must pay separate water fees like any other water producer.”

The Dead Sea Works, which has held the concession since 1961, pumps water from the Dead Sea and the area in order to extract potash, bromine, magnesium and other chemicals, paying royalties, corporate taxes and an excess profit fee to the state. Its annual profits from the activity in the years 2017 to 2023 amounted to $690–$830 million, according to a 2024 state report.

Meirav Abadi, director of regulation at Adam Teva V’Din, says the ruling “is precedent-setting and does justice to the public, who time and again are robbed of their natural resources, without receiving compensation for it.”