A Sewage Leak shuts down Israel resort town
The last thing any vacationer wants to hear is: Stay out of the sea. The water’s polluted.
But that’s exactly what flocks of tourists and holidaying Israelis were directed to do over the weekend when the country’s Environment and Interior Ministries shut down beaches in the country’s vacation hotspot Eilat.
“All of Eilat's beaches have been closed to the public after large quantities of sewage spilled into the sea,” a joint statement read.
Swimming was cut off for three days after the hazardous pollutants were identified in the sea. They resulted from a malfunction in the city's sewage system prompting leakage of about 500 square meters of sewage spilled along several coastal spots when a main pipe in the system burst.
The Interior Ministry’s decision to close all city beaches followed a recommendation by the Environment Ministry due to “….a real danger of contracting illnesses such as meningitis, eye and respiratory system infections," the Environment Ministry said in a statement.
“Recently, we have worked a lot on preventing the spill of sewage into the sea and we have upgraded 13 pumping stations at the cost of tens of millions of shekels,” city mayor Yitzhak Ha’Levi told press.
Clearly the municipality will have to do more.
Eilat borders Jordan and Egypt and serves as a haven for sun seeking Scandinavian and European tourists and diving enthusiasts. Israelis also frequent the resort area, particularly during the current Jewish holiday Sukkot.
The leak will invariably deal a blow to the city’s tourism industry where hotels expect thousands of reservations to be cancelled over the closure. “Without the beach, there’s no point in coming to Eilat,” tourist David Kalifa told press. “As far as we’re concerned there are no other alternatives. My family and I come to Eilat mainly for the beaches. If they’re closed for three days then we’ll just go home.”
And what of the long term effects?
An Israel Nature and Parks Authority said spill damage to area coral reefs already suffering damage from over-diving will be long lasting.
This is the third such incident in the city this year and in 2007 overall, there have been over 40 incidents of registered dangerous pollutants in Israel’s coastal waters. An Interior Ministry official blamed most incidents on ageing municipal sewage systems.
Time to upgrade, no?
