Man's impact on river basins: an Israeli case study

Man's impact on river basins is both direct and indirect. Direct impacts include channelization and drainage activities, the construction of dams and reservoirs, groundwater development and changes in water quality. Indirect impacts on river basins originate from urbanization, vegetation removal and irrigation. The Israeli Drainage Districts were created by law under the severe conditions of land and water scarcity prevailing in that state. Discrepancies exist in relation to the political-jurisdictional boundaries of the Drainage Districts and their physical boundaries. In the last 30 years the Drainage Districts have tended to expand their activities into territories which were not controlled before and added new roles to their existing functions. The member settlements of Drainage Districts differ in their attitudes towards drainage and flood control. The veteran rural communities such as Kibbutzim and Moshavim are cooperative while Arab villages, new Moshavim, towns and cities are less cooperative.