The water level of Lake Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) rose again this past weekend, this time by 5.5 centimeters (2.2 inches), according to Israel’s Water Authority.
The level of the lake now stands at 210.245 meters below sea level, which is just 1.455 meters (4.77 feet) from the “upper red line,” where the water reaches the lake’s full capacity.
At that point, the Degania Dam is opened and excess water from the lake is allowed to flow into the Jordan River – something that hasn’t happened in nearly a decade. The dam, located just south of the Kinneret, was opened at that time to allow the free flow of water into the lower Jordan River in order to replenish the river, which had suffered greatly from years of drought.
Heavy spring flooding in 2013 had blessed the country with enough of a water supply to allow for Lake Kinneret to revive the Jordan River.
Degania Dam was completed in the early 1930s as part of the Naharayim Rutenberg hydroelectric power plant project.