In April 2018, Water. Desalination + reuse (Faversham House) reported, citing Reuters, that Yuval Steinitz, Israel's minister for infrastructure, energy and water, had proposed building two more desalination plants. The cabinet was expected to decide within weeks. The trigger was a drought then in its fifth year. The plan also included a larger conveyance network, lower abstraction from springs and possibly piping desalinated water into Lake Tiberias, whose level had fallen to a 100-year low. Five plants were already running in the country.
The report showed that after years of drought, desalination in Israel was expected not only to supply cities but also to relieve pressure on natural water bodies.