The Nature and Parks Authority (NPA) signed a far-reaching agreement with Kibbutz Tel Dan on Wednesday to reorder water use in the area.
Instead of pumping water from the Tel Dan spring for the kibbutz, water will be pumped from the Dan spring, the biggest in the Middle East. In addition, the NPA agreed to build a plant to reclaim fish pond water for agricultural use for the kibbutz, a move that will save 1 million cubic meters of water per year and lessen the pollution of the Jordan River.
Rather than pumping from the higher-altitude Tel Dan spring, the kibbutz will receive its water from the lower Dan spring, which can supply the kibbutz in a more sustainable manner.
Reclaiming the Tel Dan spring for the nature reserve will rejuvenate the aquatic habitat, which has languished and dried out due to the lack of water, the authority said. In addition, the diversion of the fish pond water to agriculture will prevent it from flowing into the streams that feed the Jordan River, thereby reducing pollution. It will also free up 1 million cu.m. of water per year for nature.
The agreement can also be expanded to include other kibbutzim nearby, such as She'ar Yashuv and Shanir, which could free up as much as 3 million cu.m. per year.
NPA director-general Eli Amitai said in a statement that the agreement came amid the authority's efforts to secure more water for nature.
"The right of nature to water is protected by law since 2004, but it doesn't mean our work is done - rather, it has just begun. We've [also] managed to increase the amount of water in the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve, and to revive the Ein Gedi Stream after 50 years, and today we are taking an important step forward in increasing the amount of water in the streams which feed the Jordan," he said.
