Water Authority Approves Partial Palmachim Restart Despite Contamination

The Water Authority approved limited operation at the Palmachim desalination plant despite seawater contamination that forced five of Israel's six major plants offline. The partial restart is intended to add a limited volume of water to the national system, while Hadera remains the only major desalination plant running at full capacity. Hadera produces 137 million cubic meters annually and is currently supplying about 400,000 cubic meters per day. David Miolagai, chief executive of Hadera's operating company and vice president of IDE Technologies, said five plants had never previously been shut simultaneously.