Residents say state shirking responsibility over sewage pollution in southern stream
Untreated sewage has been flowing into stream for 9 months after damage at wastewater treatment plant; local official in charge of sewage says he lacks power to punish polluters
Sue Surkes is The Times of Israel's environment reporter
Nine months after raw sewage and partially untreated wastewater began flooding into a seasonal stream in southern Israel, the new leader of an association tasked with sewage management told a Knesset committee that he lacked the tools to act against rule breakers, while the head of a citizens’ group accused the state of shirking its responsibility to rehabilitate the stream once the issues were resolved.
In May, the wastewater treatment plant serving the city of Sderot and the Sha’ar Hanegev Regional Council developed cracks in the walls of two of its four biological reactors. The damage occurred during work on a NIS 72 million ($20.25 million) project expanding the plant to keep up with demand from population growth.
At a meeting Tuesday of the Knesset Internal Affairs and Environment Committee, Uri Epstein, who chairs the Sha’ar HaNegev Regional Council, complained that no state ministry or institution was taking responsibility for the stream.
Epstein, whose predecessor Ofir Libstein was killed fighting Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023, asked who would compensate farmers from the Erez and Or Haner kibbutzim for having to buy recycled water from elsewhere until the plant was repaired. “We’re being pushed from pillar to post,” he said.
Rami Amit, who 10 weeks ago took over as manager of the Sderot-Sha’ar HaNegev Cities Association, which is responsible for the area’s sewage, said he could have the repairs completed in days “in a sterile situation.” However, he said the Israel Defense Forces and some Sderot factories were directing unsuitable effluent to the plant, which was damaging the communities of bacteria that help the sewage decompose.
Amit estimated that the reactor repairs would be finished in two weeks.
He also said that though he was authorized to take waste samples from factories in Sderot, he could not act against those who broke the rules.
“Yesterday, regulators and the local authorities met to increase the monitoring of what is sent to the wastewater treatment plant,” Amit continued. “The army representative wasn’t interested. They don’t want the local authorities monitoring them.”
“I need tools, now, to use against those factories and the army,” he added.
Epstein noted some of the factories are involved in defense. “The regional council can’t monitor factories in Sderot. There’s a regulatory problem here,” he said.
The water authority stopped drilling groundwater in several places after the reactor walls cracked. A representative told the Knesset committee that there was no information about sewage having contaminated the groundwater. Mekorot, which manages the national water system, only carries out tests when the pumps are working.
The authority also ordered the treatment plant — which continues to function around the clock — to divert what it could to an agricultural wastewater reservoir in Or Haner that the meeting heard is now overflowing.
One water authority official said the Sderot Municipality should monitor and fine factories when necessary.
However, municipal representatives were absent from the debate.
Anat Haas, who heads the Shikma Stream Directorate, created 21 years ago to develop the stream and the area around it for the enjoyment of residents, said no ministry has offered to get involved with rehabilitation.
Ohad Cohen, CEO of Atid LeOtef, an organization representing citizens of the Gaza border area, blew up at the end of the meeting.
“I’m leaving confused. One hand doesn’t know what the other is doing. There’s no enforcement. No authority. I’m returning to a polluted stream because nobody is taking responsibility. I want to know who is responsible for the stream’s rehabilitation — is he authorized, does he have the (appropriate) budget?” said Cohen.
Orly Babitsky of the environmental advocacy organization Adam Teva V’Din noted that a 2010 government decision to create a master plan for water and sewage was never implemented.
In October, mosquitoes carrying Nile fever were seen at the stream, and in January, zinc chromate, a heavy metal, was found in the factory sludge. A strain of cholera bacteria that naturally live in brackish or salty water was also identified.
Residents have been told to keep their distance from the stream.
The water authority and Environmental Protection Ministry are looking into the treatment plant’s problems. A water authority representative said initial findings suggested a fault in the original design, adding those involved were no longer alive. The representative thought the report would be completed by the end of March.
In 2018, the State Comptroller found that the Sderot-Sha’ar Hanegev city association had no oversight committee, the quality of the recycled water was below required standards, and work to upgrade the facility was being delayed.
The Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, which has been campaigning alongside Atid LeOtef, wants a law that imposes fees and fines for discharging wastewater into streams.
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