While the climate crisis and the war with Iran pose unprecedented challenges, Israel’s water sector continues to demonstrate exceptional resilience in both routine and emergency situations. Mekorot Acting CEO Danny Soffer addressed the Israel Economic Conference 2026, outlining the actions that have turned Israel into a model for many countries worldwide, including neighboring states.
“Israel’s water sector is one of the most stable in the world, despite the desert environment. This is thanks to long-term strategies,” said Soffer. “First, we have widespread infrastructure. We operate 1,000 drilled water wells across the country. This distribution makes it very difficult to disrupt the system, as we are experiencing now. Second, there is desalination. Already in the early 2000s, we understood that natural water sources would not suffice. We moved to large-scale production of water from the Mediterranean Sea. Today, we stand at 850 million cubic meters, and with Israel’s growth rate, we need to build a 100 million cubic meter facility every three years.”
He emphasized that the company is working to connect the entire country to the national water system. “This is what we are working toward. Israel is unique in that four different water sources feed into the same system, supplying water across the country. We are currently working on connecting the Golan Heights (completion within 2.5–3 years), the Valley of Springs (within two years), the Jordan Valley, and Judea and Samaria. The goal is for the entire country to operate as one system, allowing water to be transported in any direction.”
Soffer also elaborated on Mekorot’s global activities, including in Muslim countries: “We provide consulting and develop master plans for countries such as Azerbaijan (a massive desalination plant using waters from the Caspian Sea) and Kazakhstan. We have also signed contracts in Bahrain and the UAE, and we are active in Latin America (Argentina, Uruguay, Peru, and Chile) as well as India. Our major advantage lies in our expertise and in our ability to address water loss in the system. In Israel, water loss is only 3%, compared to 50% in other parts of the world.”
Soffer also addressed the future of the Sea of Galilee. “It has now risen above the lower red line (4.10 meters above it). We hardly draw from it for the national system anymore; on the contrary, since the beginning of the month, we have been pumping desalinated water into it through the ‘reverse carrier’ to rehabilitate it.”
In closing, Soffer also noted Mekorot’s support for IDF soldiers, stating that there is no military base—even a temporary one—that is not connected to the water system. “We supply water, electricity, and even hot water to bases along the borders,” he emphasized.
Soffer also referenced the passing of Amos Epstein, a resident of Kfar Aza. Epstein had previously served as a senior figure in Mekorot and led the company to numerous achievements.
Written in collaboration with Mekorot