The level of the Kinneret, Israel's largest lake, has dropped to that of last November and is only 35 centimeters (14 inches) from the "red line" and 2.35 meters (94 inches) from the "black line," where water may become too contaminated for use.
The lake usually drops almost two meters during the summer, and the black line may not be reached if winter rains come on time. Israel has suffered four years of below-average rainfall, and the Kinneret and the underground aquifer systems have gradually been depleted. The government already has warned it may cut water quotas for farmers, whose use of water accounts for approximately half of the country's demand.