Climate Expert Says Israel's New Flood Plan Lacks Treasury Funding

Orly Babitsky, head of climate resilience at the Israeli environmental advocacy group Adam Teva V’Din, stated on 103FM today that the national flood risk management plan released in October lacks a dedicated Treasury budget allocation. The plan, which was published after a six-year delay, assigns specific responsibilities to various agencies but does not include the financial backing required to execute its strategies.

Babitsky pointed to a historic shortfall in spending as the root cause of the current disarray. She noted that investment in flood prevention was projected to reach NIS 7 billion over the previous decade. In reality, only NIS 1.5 billion was spent during that period. This gap, she explained, has left both national and local governments struggling to determine who is responsible for specific spending obligations.

The urgency of the situation is driven by changing weather patterns. Babitsky described a shift toward rainfall events that are more intense and severe, with large volumes of water falling over short periods. She emphasized that while local authorities cannot control the weather, they can prepare for the resulting flooding. This preparation is a key recommendation from the state comptroller.

To address the infrastructure gap, Babitsky proposed a combination of coordinated measures. One specific solution involves designating certain areas as safe flood zones. These zones would be designed to absorb water during storms without damaging property or endangering people. Once the weather event passes, the water would seep into the ground to replenish aquifers, a resource that will be critical during the coming hot months.

The current drainage infrastructure was designed for weather events that are becoming less common, according to Babitsky. She argued that local governments must now maintain older systems and expand existing ones to handle the new intensity of rainfall. The scale of the required work is substantial, requiring billions of shekels in funding, well beyond the NIS 1.5 billion previously invested.

Babitsky criticized the process of releasing a plan without confirmed funding. She described the situation as a joke, noting that the document itself admits that dedicated funding sources will be developed in the future. She questioned how a plan can be effective when there is no immediate budget allocation from the Treasury to support the assigned tasks.

The expert concluded that the lack of a funded strategy leaves local authorities in a difficult position. They are tasked with preparing for severe flooding while operating under unresolved questions about national and local responsibility. The combination of past underinvestment and the new, unfunded plan creates a significant challenge for infrastructure management across the country.