Not Just the Drought: How We Are Killing Israel's Streams
Dr. Asaf Tzoar from the Israel Nature and Parks Authority reveals that the severe drought of 2024/25 is only part of the problem; human management and water allocation leave nature as the last consumer, leading to devastating damage to streams. The flow of the Dan Stream dropped to a record low of 1.8 cubic meters per second, and the battle over the Jordan River flow at the Gezer Bridge demonstrates the depth of the crisis.
Dr. Asaf Tzoar, director of the Environmental Division at the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, has published a new study in the journal 'Adam veTeva' (Man and Nature) revealing that the severe drought of 2024/25 is only part of the problem. The real enemy of the streams, he says, is human management and water allocation that leaves nature as the last consumer. In the Kinneret basin, only 40%-45% of average rainfall has fallen, and the flow of the Dan Stream dropped in December to a record low of 1.8 cubic meters per second, compared to a multi-year average of 5.9 cubic meters. The combination of drought and artificial extraction for agriculture and drinking has created an emergency in aquatic habitats. The article describes a process of death spiral: dropping water levels, disconnection from bank vegetation, exposure of rocks, and formation of stagnant pools with poor water quality and low oxygen concentration. A major flashpoint was the Jordan River at the Gezer Bridge, where the Water Authority proposed further reducing minimum flows, but the Nature and Parks Authority, the Ministry of Environmental Protection, and the Society for the Protection of Nature opposed, arguing that weak flow increases risks to public health and the economy. Ultimately, the Water Council approved a partial amendment. The article mentions the principle of 'nature's right to water' established in a 2004 law, but emphasizes that the reality on the ground does not uphold it. The strategic plan to save the streams includes setting minimum flow thresholds, alternative supply for agriculture, enforcement, and science-based monitoring. Dr. Tzoar ends with cautious optimism: habitats can recover quickly when water returns, but one must not gamble on the stream's future.