Kinneret water level rises by 6 cm over weekend

The Degania Dam is expected to be partially opened at the beginning of May in order to prevent flooding.

PEOPLE ON paddle boards float on Lake Kinneret in 2016. It is Israel’s major surface fresh-water source, now endangered. (photo credit: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun)
PEOPLE ON paddle boards float on Lake Kinneret in 2016. It is Israel’s major surface fresh-water source, now endangered.
(photo credit: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun)
The water level of the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) rose by six cm between Friday and Sunday, bringing the water level to 209.01 meters below sea level, according to the Water Authority.
The Kinneret is now 21 cm below the upper red line threshold which marks 208.9 meters below sea level. The lake is currently at the highest level it's been since 2004.
If the lake exceeds the upper red line threshold, the Degania Dam will be opened and the water will be diverted to the Jordan River. The last time the dam was opened was in 2013. The dam is expected to be partially opened at the beginning of May in order to prevent flooding, according to the Kinneret Draining Authority.
In February, the Water Authority announced that it would open the dam in late March if the Kinneret reached 20 centimeters below the upper red line. In March, the Water Authority announced that the dam was not expected to open this year, even though the last two years have had high amounts of rainfall.
A report by the Water Authority last month announced that the water level of the Kinneret had risen by 2.315 meters since the beginning of the rainy season, compared to a 3.47 meter rise last winter. (It is now a 2.875 meter rise since the beginning of the season) The past two winters and a dramatic decrease in pumping have brought the lake from being near the black line threshold, which would indicate an ecological danger, to its current, almost full state.
 
The Water Authority had announced that it believes that the water level will reach 20 centimeters under the upper red line. In 2004, the water level reached 8 centimeters under the upper red line and the dam still wasn't opened.