The Ministry of Environmental Protection is fearful that the Haifa crude oil leak which made headlines last week may have polluted the city's drinking water reserves.
By MIRIAM BULWAR DAVID-HAY
The Ministry of Environmental Protection is fearful that the Haifa crude oil leak which made headlines last week may have polluted the city's drinking water reserves, reports the Hebrew weekly Yediot Haifa. The main water pipeline is not far from the leaking oil pipeline, and ministry officials have begun drilling nearby to see if there is damage.
According to the report, ministry officials have been investigating to see if the leaking oil penetrated far enough underground to pollute the city's core water supply, out of which runs the main drinking water pipeline. The ministry's district manager Robert Reuven said that officials were drilling deep underground to see if there had been any pollution, and if so, to what extent.
At the same time, officials from the Tirat Hacarmel municipality have demanded that the oil line be moved as they say it runs too close to the town. An official said that having a line that carries so much flammable material so close to the town was like "sitting on a box of explosives," and no-one should wait for a disaster to occur before moving the line.
A leak was discovered early last week in the oil line, which brings crude oil to factories in the Haifa Bay area. The Environment Ministry and firefighters estimated that some 100 tons of crude oil leaked from the pipeline, and a massive effort was made to block the leak and prevent fires.
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