Besides providing the people of Israel with much needed water, the completion of the third of five planned desalination plants may save the Sea of Galilee and Jordan River.  From Arutz-7:

A huge new desalination plant dedicated this week is planned to help end Israel’s constant worry for enough water for farms, factories and homes. “Water, water everywhere and more to drink” may be a new phrase for Israel as the new plant begins to pump 10 percent of Israel’s water needs. The facility on the Mediterranean Coast at Hadera, located between Haifa and Tel Aviv, is the largest of its kind in the world and the third largest in Israel. Two more plants are on the drawing boards, with all five of them projected to provide two-thirds of the nation’s water. The desalinated water will be cheaper than the cost of pumping from the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) to the national water carrier, according to Teddy Golan, CEO of the IDE Technologies group that built the 1.5 billion shekel ($400 million) desalination plant. […] If all goes according to plan, the Kinneret will return to flood levels in several years after all of the desalination plants come on line. The desalinated water from the Mediterranean also will allow the dams to the Kinneret to be opened and help replenish the drying Jordan River and the rapidly depleting Dead Sea.

The complete article is here.

The recent sharp decline in the number of fish in the Sea of Galilee is the result of poisoning, overfishing, low water level, and birds, according to the Jerusalem Post.  This article by Ehud Zion Waldoks is the best researched piece I’ve seen on the subject.  Two hundred fishermen have licenses to fish, and the decision to ban fishing for two years has them up in arms.  They don’t want government compensation of 2,000 shekels (about $530) a month; they want to fish.

According to the Agriculture Ministry, the number of fish in the lake has dropped significantly in the last decade and especially over the last two years – so much so that there is now a significant chance that Lake Kinneret will cease to have fish in it at all if fishing continues as usual. If that were to happen, it would represent an ecological disaster and negatively affect water quality as well, according to the Water Authority. The Agriculture Ministry has attributed part of the decrease to overfishing and mass poisoning. The drastically lower water level of the lake in recent years has also contributed to the decrease, the Water Authority believes.

The full article is here.

Drought conditions continue in Israel, with almost no rain recorded in the north of the country in March.  The water level of the Sea of Galilee went up 2.5 inches (6 cm) over Passover week, but that was because pumping was halted for the holiday.  With winter rains all but over, the lake is now 3.87 meters below capacity.  For more, see this Arutz-7 article.

The fishing ban on the Sea of Galilee begins at the end of this month and the Telegraph has a new story, including interviews with a local critical of the authorities for creating the situation.