Jerusalem, 15 November, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Israel’s Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure has issued a tender to draft a comprehensive planning blueprint for returning water to nature and rehabilitating degraded stream basins across the country.
Building on earlier restoration initiatives in northern Israel’s Galilee region—an area heavily reliant on natural springs and headwaters feeding the Jordan River and Mediterranean Sea—the new program expands ecological recovery to additional watersheds nationwide.
Decades of intensive pumping, spring capture, and flow diversion to meet municipal and agricultural demands across Israel’s semi-arid landscape have depleted natural waterways and damaged local habitats.
The upcoming study will evaluate hydrological and ecological requirements, assess infrastructure alternatives, and establish budgets and timelines. Its findings will underpin a formal government resolution designed to balance reliable consumer water supplies with long-term biodiversity conservation.