Draining Lake Hula - almost an ecological disaster

 

The Hula Valley is located in a northern part of the Jordan Rift Valley. The steep slopes on either side with the Golan Heights to the east and the mountains of the Galilee to the west testify to the thousands of meters of land subsistence that occurred about a million years ago when there was a separation of two tectonic plates.

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The Jordan River has three tributaries - the Dan, Hizbani and Banias, and they meet in the center of the Hula Valley to form the Jordan River. However, hills formed at the southern edge of the Hula Valley from volcanic larva flowing from the Golan Heights, and its hard basalt rock impeded drainage of the Jordan River. Because of this obstructed flow, the many springs at the sides of the valley and streams from the Golan Heights and Galilee led to the formation of a lake, Lake Hula, and north of this a swampy wetland.

 

Sometime in the past, this area became a breeding ground for malaria-bearing mosquitos. Already by the 1930’s, plans were being drawn up to drain the lake, eliminate the malaria and convert the land into fertile agriculture land. This was eventually carried out by the Jewish National Fund (JNF) between 1951 to 1958. The outlet for the Jordan River was enlarged in the direction of Lake Kinneret, and the Jordan River was diverted into two drainage canals in the area of the swamp north of the lake. This drainage project led to the creation of 60,000 dunam of agricultural land and was considered a major success. 

 

Within a few years of its completion, however, major problems became apparent. As the level of the groundwater table fell, air penetrated into the dried peat in the southern and middle parts of the valley. Underground caverns were created and the underground peat started burning uncontrollably. The dried-up peat turned into black dust, and this led to subsistence of the ground, in some places by about 3 meters. Phosphates and nitrates from the microbial decomposition of the peat began draining into Lake Kinneret and polluting the lake. An ecological disaster had been inadvertently created.

 

The solution decided upon was to raise the water table level by means of canals so as to slow down the decomposition and subsidence processes from the peat. Part of the Hula Valley was also flooded to create a shallow lake called Lake Agamon (which you are now visiting). This was not in the area of the former Hula Lake (which in any case had dried up), but in an area of peat erosion unsuitable for agriculture. Pumping stations were constructed to prevent water overflow from peat-rich land going straight into the Jordan River and this water was diverted into Lake Agamon. Green pastures for animals such as water buffalo to graze in were planted around the lake.

 

This latest project has been a success in creating a site for tourism, saving agricultural land, and preventing pollution of Lake Kinneret. It has also attracted large flocks of migratory birds traveling between Europe and Asia and Africa because of the rich food resources in the lake.