Kinneret Waters Continuing to Rise
With at least two more months to go till the end of the rainy season, the waters of Lake Kinneret, the Sea of Galilee are continuing to rise in what has been the wettest winter in the past 10 years.
Over the past 24 hours, the level of the lake has risen by another two centimeters, to 210.99 meters below sea level.
But with eight more feet (2.438 meters) to go before the lake reaches its maximum capacity, it is still unlikely authorities will need to open the Degania Dam this year in order to keep the lake from cresting.
Located in the northern part of the Dead Sea rift in the African-Syrian Rift valley, the Kinneret is Israel’s only natural freshwater lake, and a crucial source of water for the country. It provides more than half of the country’s water demand.
The northern Jordan River provides most of the lake’s water supply, entering the Kinneret from the north and flowing out again from the south.
At its highest water level, the surface area of the lake is 168 square kilometers, with a maximal water depth of 46 meters, and a volume of 4,150 million cubic meters (MCM). The average depth of the lake is 25 meters. Much of the data collected on the operation of the lake and its drainage basin is gathered by scientists from the Kinneret Limnological Laboratory (KLL), established in 1968.