Preparing for winter: The Ministry of Environmental Protection today (Wednesday) called on the heads of local authorities bordering the Mediterranean and Red Sea to take action to clean the drainage systems in the local authority, including taking steps to remove the solids that have accumulated in the drainage receptors, pipes and drainage channels. All this, in order to prevent this waste from reaching the beaches, streams and marinas.
On the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and Eilat, there are currently about 166 drainage trails of surface runoff, whose origins are located on the coast, at small distances from the waterline. These conduits provide a solution for rainwater drainage from increasing areas of construction.
Cleaning beaches in Haifa (archive), photo: Herzi Shapira
Every year, with the arrival of the first rains, large amounts of plastic waste, oils, turbid liquids and a variety of other pollutants accumulate in the systems throughout the dry period, reach the beach and the sea itself. These flows are also characterized by contamination with bacteria of fecal origin and various animal secretions and standing water in the municipal drainage system. Due to climate change, extreme events in rainfall and winter storms as climate change intensifies is expected to increase in the coming years.
Waste, especially plastic waste, dumped on city streets, including markets, reaches rain receptors and roadside drainage channels and accumulates in drains and drains. The discharge of these fluids to beaches and the sea causes, beyond the heavy pollution to the sensitive marine environment, also the closure of beaches for public health reasons.
The first rains in Tel Aviv dumped waste and caused pollution on the city's beaches || Zalul Association
A study conducted by Dr. Galia Pasternak for the Ministry of Environmental Protection's Clean Coast Program on the sources of marine plastic waste on Israel's beaches found that on major beaches with municipal drains, waste coming from the sea constitutes a smaller percentage of all plastic waste on beaches, and it was found that the contribution of drain waste, including cigarette butts and styrofoam pieces, especially during the autumn season, is significantly larger.
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