Eshkol Reservoir

 reservoir  Add category

 Upload a photo

Two reservoirs are located at the southwestern end of the Beit Netofa Valley. The fist, the "sedimentation pond", holds about 1.5 million cu.m. of water and serves primarily a sanitary function, to allow suspended matter in the water to settle to the bottom.
The water enters the sedimentation pond through an installation which distributes it along the length of the reservoir in order to slow down and regulate its flow. Below the inlet installation is a sluice that absorbs most of the sediment, which in the future will be pumped out by a sludge pumping facility.
The sludge removal facility will operate without disturbing the sedimentation process. Water moves slowly through this reservoir so that the silt and suspended matter would settle to the bottom. The water exits this reservoir over a weir, thus ensuring that only the surface water layer flows on.
The second reservoir, separated from the sedimentation pond by a dam, has a capacity of 4.5 million cu.m., and its function is to regulate the inflow from the pumping stations and open canals versus the outflow into the closed pipeline, which depends on water demand in Israel, from the north to the southern regions. This reservoir permits regulating the pumping on a weekly basis, so that it would be possible to utilize the cheaper electricity at night and on weekends, and limit the use of expensive power at peak electricity consumption hours.
The large reservoir also serves as a water storage reservoir in case failures in the National Carrier system and the pumping systems necessitate interrupting the regular water pumping. In such cases, the reservoir can supply the demand for several days, ensuring continuity of supply.
Both reservoirs are surrounded by embankments. The old Beit Netofa dam was also integrated in the system, after being adapted for its current function. Both reservoirs are connected to the open canal by two distributor installations. A special canal bypasses reservoirs and permits connecting the Beit Netofa Canal directly to the 108" pipeline.
Here the water undergoes final testing prior to entering the closed pipeline. In order to bring the water to drinking water standards, chemicals are added to it. A chlorination building and additional sanitary installations were constructed near the reservoirs and their outlet, to ensure that the water entering the pipeline meets potable water quality standards.
The open canal and the reservoirs connect via an inlet structure to the 108" concrete pipeline. The inlet installation contains sluice gates and strainers. The pipeline runs for about 86 km., from the Eshkol reservoir to the Yarkon-Negev system at Rosh-Ha’ayin.

research.haifa.ac.il/~eshkol/kantorb.html