Barak Graber, acting CEO of Mekorot Development & Enterprises, said the company’s nationwide water grid rerouted supply when an algal bloom temporarily shut down major Mediterranean desalination facilities. The incident unfolded over the past month, testing a system that combines desalination, recycled wastewater, groundwater and surface water.
The nationwide grid
Graber said the network used alternative wells and reservoirs to redirect water in real time, and the domestic public experienced virtually no shortage at the tap. The response, he said, showed why water sources must be managed as an integrated system rather than through reliance on desalination alone.
Desalination, Graber wrote, is an exceptional solution. But without system redundancy and intelligent centralized management, dependence on desalination can create a dangerous vulnerability. According to the questions accompanying the article, the algal bloom temporarily shut down a significant portion of Israel’s desalination capacity. Those questions asked how centralized management and routing prevented a system breakdown.
Graber’s argument is that water management depends on a holistic framework, not technology alone. In the Middle East, he wrote, the climate crisis is a daily reality, and water requires cooperation despite political and ideological divisions. His account presents integrated infrastructure and the ability to redirect supplies as central to national resilience.
Regional partnerships
Graber also described Mekorot’s capacity to supply high-quality, continuous water to its neighbors as a basis for regional partnerships. He said those ties could create “positive mutual interdependence” anchored in physical infrastructure and serve as a stabilizing force in the Middle East.
The article asked whether Mekorot’s water supplies to neighboring areas and regional agreements signed in the Gulf could help stabilize the region. It gave no details about those agreements. It also asked how managing the water economy as a unified grid might affect national security and resilience.
Mekorot’s international work, Graber wrote, includes leak detection, engineering consultancy and master planning. The company exports operational know-how across Latin America, Europe, Central Asia, India and other locations. The article asked what makes that expertise attractive to governments and international organizations, but named no client governments and gave no specific project examples.
The next decade
Graber said multilateral partnerships would be key to addressing the global water crisis. He called for cooperation linking Mekorot’s operational expertise with private and governmental sectors. The article also asked about collaboration among state-owned enterprises, private companies, international organizations and diplomats working on water challenges in arid regions.
The partnerships, Graber wrote, could turn water from a flashpoint of conflict into a catalyst for regional stability, development and growth. His account ties that possibility to coordinated management, infrastructure and cooperation across political divisions. The algal-bloom response, he said, shows how routing among desalination facilities, wells and reservoirs can maintain supply when one source is disrupted.
The article focuses on Mekorot’s operational model and Graber’s case for regional cooperation. It doesn’t specify the volume of water supplied to neighboring areas, identify the neighbors, or provide figures for the company’s international projects.