The Local Governments Center and the 15 Forum of Israel’s 15 largest cities have reached an agreement with Israel's National Water Authority to continue watering the country's public gardens and parks, despite a threat of drought in Israel this summer.
The Water Authority, in a deepening campaign to conserve water called "We Must Save the Kinneret", had threatened to halt water supplies to Israel's parks, which use a collective 48 million cubic meters of water a year.
In line with the new agreement, Israel's parks will subsist with 28 million cubic meters, and will utilize irrigation quality water in lesser trafficked green spots such as islands and traffic circles. Public areas will also be restricted to watering from 5pm to 10pm.
Last week, the Water Authority warned that if major conservation plans are not implemented, the Kinneret will become ecologically unsalvageable, no longer capable of providing Israelis with clean drinking water.
A new campaign to raise awareness for water conservation, and the implementation of a hefty "drought tax" for water use offenders are just part of the Water Authority's strategy for saving water, through which officials hope to reduce water usage by 10 percent.
Low-flow faucet aeroaters to reduce water flow by 30-50 percent per faucet will be mandatory in new buildings, but will also be distributed to 1.2 million households around Israel.
Private lawns will also be subject to new regulations, with authorities enforcing specific watering days and times. A ban on sowing new lawns is already in place under the previous water conservation campaign, "Israel is Drying Up."
In order to provide Israelis with more drinking water, the Water Authority is examining plans to desalinate water 24 hours a day at the Palmachim desalination facility, as well as at a future plant in Hadera which is already under construction.
The desalination plants are currently scheduled to operate only when electricity rates are relatively low, at off-peak hours.