Water

The Water Unit of the Civil Administration is responsible for the maintenance, operation, and development of the water apparatus Area C through the unit's employees, the Mekorot company, and the water and wastewater companies.

The unit works with the aim of promoting water initiatives such as a pilot project for the use of recycled water in Deir Sharaf, connecting the Samaritan community on Mount Gerizim to the water infrastructure and restoring the sewage line of the settlement Givat Ze'ev and the Palestinian villages in the area.

These activities are carried out with coordination between the Palestinian Water Authority and Israeli counterparts, with meetings that are held within the framework of the joint committees.

In 2016, a long-term strategic plan was developed to meet the needs of the region’s population by 2040. This was done at the direction of the Civil Administration and was led by the Ministry of National Infrastructure, Energy and Water Resources, the Water Authority, and the Mekorot company. The plan will be divided into several stages, with a number of projects expected to increase the water volume by seven million cubic meters in the next three years.

The unit faces many challenges, particularly due to ongoing attempts to undermine the water system, which affects the entire population of the region. This poses a daily challenge in the area, which requires significant resources to enforce and implement water consolidation.

In addition to these responsibilities, the unit also enforces laws regarding the illegal pollution of water sources by factories and gas stations, as well as the excessive pumping of groundwater and attempts to illegally introduce pumping equipment.

Areas of Responsibility and Services

• Maintaining, operating and developing the water infrastructure in Area C through the unit’s employees, Mekorot, and local water and wastewater companies
• Development and planning of new water infrastructures and issuance of water and sewage orders
• Providing water supply licenses for Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria
• Preparing and expressing professional perspectives for authorities within the Civil Administration and various others
• Coordination between the Palestinian Water Authority and the counterparts on the Israeli side, in addition to holding joint committee meetings
• Managing, monitoring, and countering illegal activities in the field of water and sewage, in addition to carrying out enforcement operations in cooperation with the Supervision Unit