New pipeline will quench Jerusalemites’ thirst for water

Water conservation has been becoming the hottest of topics in Jerusalem and throughout the country as years of drought have taken their toll on Israel’s few water supplies – especially Lake Kinneret. Though watering private gardens may be on the outs, Jerusalem’s growing population will continue needing to flush toilets, take showers and hydrate, no matter what conservation steps are taken. To that end, work recently began on bringing a fifth major water line to the city, which will add more capacity and be a significant upgrade over the city’s current water situation.

The national water company Mekorot is planning on spending NIS 2.5 billion for the plan – no small drop in the bucket if you will. But according to Makorot CEO Ido Rosolio, the new pipe is needed.

“Assessments are that water consumption in Jerusalem and its environs will outgrow the current delivery capacity within a few years, and therefore this region needs reinforcement of its supply,” Rosolio told Haaretz earlier this year.

The city has four other pipelines already supplying its thirsty residents, the first brought in 1936 and the last in 1994. Getting water to Jerusalem, which sits on the edge of the desert, has always been an important cause, both for national and security reasons, as the abundance of ancient water systems that dot the area around the Old City proves. Today, many of those tunnels provide some the most exciting and unique tours through the city. Before the first pipes were laid down, Jerusalemites relied on trucks and more primitive transportation methods to ship the wet stuff in. Conservation wasn’t so much an issue as a fact of life back then.

According to Mekorot, the pipe will be laid under the Judean Hills and supply the city with an additional 500,000 cubic meters of water a day. Work began last month on the project, which is expected to take seven years until completion.