The infiltration of fertilizers into national water company Mekorot’s pipeline in the Triangle area (in the Nazareth area) is the probable cause of the higher ammonia level in potable water in Gush Dan (central Israel), according to a preliminary investigation conducted by Mekorot.
Mekorot said that special teams had been conducting a thorough environmental survey since early morning to spot the infiltration along a pipeline stretching from Rosh Ha’Ayin to Tel Aviv.
Mekorot yesterday instructed Gush Dan residents to stop drinking tap water, after laboratory tests indicated that the grime in the water was ten times the permitted level, and that the ammonia level was 20 times the permitted level.
The ammonia level gave rise to suspicions that fertilizers might have infiltrated the water, apparently due to malfunction in an agricultural facility. Preliminary tests neither ruled out nor confirmed the infiltration of bacteria into the water.
This morning’s tests indicated a considerable drop in the ammonia level in the Tel Aviv region, but since bacteria tests have not yet been completed, tap water must be boiled pending new instructions.
The Israel Union for Environmental Defense (Adam Teva v’Din), which obtained a High Court of Justice ruling requiring Mekorot to install a filter for filtering Lake Kinneret water, said that if Mekorot had installed filters in water pipelines outside large cities, such an incident would not have occurred. The Israel Union for Environmental Defense claims that Israel is the only country in the Western world whose residents drink non-filtered surface water.
Published by Israel's Business Arena on 10 July, 2001