IV. Partial Re-flooding the Hula Valley

The aim of reclaiming a large fertile area for cultivation was found to be only partially successful. Oxidation of the organic peat soil resulted in soil subsidence, while heavy autumn winds eroded the dry peat, in some cases up to 1 cm of soil in a single storm. Moreover, the fields tended to produce vegetative, rather than reproductive growth, due to surplus nitrates, which restricted farmers mainly to hay production. Soil deterioration processes in the middle part of the Hula Valley accelerated, threatening the quality of the Lake Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) water - the largest single source of drinking water in Israel - through leaching of nitrates. The area began to be neglected because of its non-profitability, resulting in an increase in peat degradation, underground fires and rodent density. These factors, together with predictions that the subsidence would continue and that ever more areas would go out of production led the authorities to the decision in 1994 to re-flood the valley.

Over the past decade a change in the attitude to land management had taken place. The importance of agriculture, that was formerly the cornerstone of the Zionist movement, had decreased, and is being replaced by a value of multiple land use, with an emphasis on environmentally friendly agriculture, tourism and conservation of nature. The aim of re-flooding was to rehabilitate the diverse wetland ecology and create an area attractive to eco-tourism (the Hula Valley is on the main migration route of birds between Africa and Europe), as well as to create a clear water body, which would contribute to the purification of the water flow to the Lake of Kinneret, which derives more than 50% of its external nutrients from the Hula Valley.

The reclamation project, entitled the “Hula Project”, was proposed and implemented during 1993-1997. Its economic objectives, apart from tourism, included improving agriculture by increasing the level of soil moisture by raising the water table, changing the irrigation system from drip-infiltration to mobile long line sprinklers all over the valley and renewing the hydrological control system of the valley. The construction of 90 km of drainage canals would supply water to establish a higher water table, drain excess water and create the shallow Lake Agmon (0.8 average depth; 120 ha area), to operate as a drainage basin for the valley. A 4-mm thick plastic barrier, 2.8 km long, was placed underground to a depth of 4.5 m, crossing the valley from east to west to stop the subterranean flow of nutrient-rich water.

The former riverbed of the Jordan was reconstructed for recreation and to supply water to Lake Agmon. Water effluents from Lake Agmon are now diverted from the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) catchment basin. Since the function of Lake Agmon is to act as a drainage sink and to serve eco-tourism, its water quality, landscape, the composition and the density of its flora and fauna affect its ecological and economic qualities (Shacham, 1994; Livne, 1994; Dimentman et al., 1992).