From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, September 14, 2021
Panel rules to save Ayalon Cave and its unique dwellers from runoff water plan
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSue Surkes is The Times of Israel's environment reporter
An underground cave cut off from the world for five million years and inhabited by strange and unique creatures that have adapted to sulfurous waters and complete darkness will not be included in a plan to absorb seasonal floodwaters from the Ayalon River basin in central Israel, the National Infrastructure Committee decides.
The committee is looking for a place to which surface runoff water can be directed in the winter. This is in connection with plans for an additional rail line in the area that would require narrowing a section of the Ayalon River.
The decision, which spares the cave from being designated as a runoff water collection point, follows a long campaign to save the Ayalon Cave.
The Times of Israel Community.