Zalul : Beach was open, sea was closed

At least two beaches during the bathing season are closed to the public every month, on average, due to pollution, the Zalul Environmental Association said yesterday.

The official bathing season ends next week and the NGO released its beach-pollution data yesterday; the Interior Ministry ordered beaches shut some 19 times, 13 of them during the bathing season, over the past year. Closures meant people were not allowed into the sea due to the pollution from sewage.

Pollution caused beaches to be closed half as often this year as in 2007. But Zalul dismisses this as proof that pollution of the sea has decreased because not all of the data on closures is yet available.

The beaches in Haifa were closed most often - four times - during the past year. However, the longest closure was registered in Acre, where sewage from West Galilee communities continues to flow into the sea.

Zalul says the authorities deal with malfunctions after the sewage system breaks down, but operate no maintenance to prevent the breakdowns from taking place.