Our kayak club, "Daniel rowing center" is located at the mouth of the Yarkon river in Tel Aviv, about 300m from the sea.
Located at the heart of Israel`s urban center, the Yarkon often suffers from chemical and sewage pollutions, and is a potential health hazard.
In 1997, during the Jewish Olympic games (Maccabia), more than a hundred athletes fell into the river when a bridge collapsed. The athletes suffered from various infections, leading to several death cases and paralysis.
Last week, a fire broke up in an industrial zone up river. As a result, one of the chemical plants nearby poured all its detergents to the biological sewage handling facility. The detergents blocked and damaged the facility and some thousands m³ of raw sewage went down the river.
The damage was immense - thousands of fish float dead, and pile up the river banks
I'm sure the pollution did not impact the fish alone, probably some shellfish, crabs and weeds are in danger.
I hope the river will be cleaned soon enough, so at least the animals higher in the food chain such as water birds like the duck below will be saved, and we'll be able to paddle the river again and enjoy its beauty.
Located at the heart of Israel`s urban center, the Yarkon often suffers from chemical and sewage pollutions, and is a potential health hazard.
In 1997, during the Jewish Olympic games (Maccabia), more than a hundred athletes fell into the river when a bridge collapsed. The athletes suffered from various infections, leading to several death cases and paralysis.
Last week, a fire broke up in an industrial zone up river. As a result, one of the chemical plants nearby poured all its detergents to the biological sewage handling facility. The detergents blocked and damaged the facility and some thousands m³ of raw sewage went down the river.
The damage was immense - thousands of fish float dead, and pile up the river banks
I'm sure the pollution did not impact the fish alone, probably some shellfish, crabs and weeds are in danger.
I hope the river will be cleaned soon enough, so at least the animals higher in the food chain such as water birds like the duck below will be saved, and we'll be able to paddle the river again and enjoy its beauty.
1 comment:
The "duck" is an Egyptian goose. You are quite right to point out the pollution - but should also mention the amazing work that continues to be done to clean up the river. The KKL (JNF) together with donors from Australia, environmentalists (goverment sponsored and not) are all involved in this ongoing project. Not that long ago you couldn't walk too close alongside the river because of the smell. Today you can stand (as I did last week) on one of the overlooks watching a pied king-fisher dive for its prey - or catch a cormorant swallowing whole a fish!
The green lungs of Tel Aviv are really working!
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