Live Update 
From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, May 13, 2026
From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, May 13, 2026
Government approves plan to upgrade Ashkelon desalination plant
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSue Surkes is The Times of Israel's environment reporter
An undated photo of a desalination plant in Ashkelon, Israel. (Edi Israel/Flash90)
The Government approves a plan to upgrade Israel’s first desalination plant, established in 2005 in the southern coastal city of Ashkelon, and to increase its production from 120 million to 220 million cubic meters per year.
The plan provides for additional sources of power, generated by natural gas, and for a special water pipe to take the brine byproduct of desalination out to sea. To date, the brine has been diluted in the cooling water of an adjacent coal-fired power station.
The plan also earmarks an area in the Europe Asia Pipeline Company compound for an additional desalination facility to be built in the future.
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