Reference: Microbial criteria for water quality for sailing – Nahal Hayarkon general: As a result and following the Government’s decision regarding the supervision of the quality of sailing in the Yarkon, this procedure is written, which regulates the operation of the inspection procedure by the Nahal Yarkon Authority and the Ministry of Environmental Protection.
This procedure refers only to the quality of the Yarkon water in the context of sailing supervision and does not reduce or change the powers of the River Authority or the Ministry of Environmental Protection beyond this area and according to any law. It is based on testing of microbial criteria determined by an interoffice panel of scientific experts which has discussed this issue and turned in its findings. The principles of this procedure are based on the Ministry of Health’s sampling procedures in regards to bathing and recreation beaches as well as sampling and monitoring practices in rivers, beaches and around sewage egresses.
This monitoring will be executed by the Yarkon River Authority. The monitoring work shall be accompanied by regular survey patrols along the entire section in which boating takes place and regular communication with relevant factors (municipal and others). The survey shall focus on the sewage egresses and other potential sources of pollution.
1. Sampling procedures
1.1 The sampling will be conducted by a representative of the River Authority or a certified sampler according to the guidelines set by the Ministry of Environmental Protection.
1.2 The samples will be taken from the river at points in which the water’s depth is at least 80 cm. (at least 3 meters from the river bank).
1.3 The sampling, safekeeping of the samples and process of entering the samples to the laboratory will be according to Standard Methods.
2. Frequency of sampling
2.1 . Sampling of the water will take place once a week and once a month as long as the standard of water is unfit for sailing.
2.2 . In the event of deviation, a sample will be retaken as per the guidelines in section a.3 in the reference document.
2.3 A quality level fit for sailing will be determined by sampling from the 8 sample points along the section of the river with a result of a geometric average of 4,000 fecal coliform bacteria/100 ml. of water or less, and less than 10,000 in the overall samples.
2.4 Quality which is unfit for sailing- a significant winter rain event starting in October or a deviated result (over 10,000) in the resample will change the status for sailing. This stands until the results stated in article 2.3 are received.
2.5 A parallel sampling of the river will be done by the Ministry of Environmental Protection or its proxies every two months.
3. The sampling points
3.1 The sampling will be conducted in 9 sampling points: Above Seven Mills, below Seven Mills, Ayalon slope, Namir Bridge, Brandeis Bridge, Ibn Gabirol Bridge, the Marine Center, Rokah Bridge, Wokop Bridge. The sample will be taken at a depth of 20 cm from the water surface. In cases in which the effects of a stream flow or a riverside drain, one point must be taken at its top, in the designated sample point, and one down the river, at a distance that ensures a perfect mix with the water coming from the stream or the drain. The sampling will be done at set stations (see table 1). One point at the top of the sailing section, Seven Mills, and eight points along the salty section. If the monitoring patrol on the day of the sampling sees that the drains are dry and there are no further sources of flow into the river, only five points will be sampled. In these cases, the inspector will clearly report that no further sources of flow were found, thus only 5 points were sampled. In any case, 9 samples shall be taken at least once a month.
4. Required testing
4.1 The type of test: a microbial test to determine the amount of fecal coliform bacteria in 100 ml of river water.
5. Processing and analysing the results of the water testing in which a geometric average, median will be presented
5.1 The results of the water testing will be organized in a minimum and maximum table of the data for the period and a graphic presentation compared to Excel standard.
6. Criteria for boating- Numerical standard
6.1 The river’s water will be considered fit for sailing when the geometrical average of the sampled river water does not exceed 4,000 fecal coliform bacteria/100 ml and is lower than 10,000 in all of the samples.
6.2 In case a result exceeds 4,000 fecal coliform bacteria and lower than 10,000 in at least two consecutive samples in the area, the River Authority will state this deviation in a report that will be given to the Ministry of Environmental Protection. The Ministry, after consulting with the Authority and per its consideration will decide whether to refer to this result as a deviation which necessitates resampling.
6.3 Deviation: A. If a deviation from the maximum of 10,000 fecal coliform bacteria per 100 ml is measured, in a single test, a retest will be performed within 24 to 48 hours of receiving the deviating result in the laboratory. The retest will include 3 samples of river water which will be taken from the point in which the deviation was found, one above stream from it and one below stream. B. If the results of the re-inspection still indicate an anomaly, the river authority will announce that the water quality is not suitable for boating C. Notice of a suitable water quality for boating will be given after the situation has changed and the conditions have been met according to section 6.1 below.
6.4 Boating alert for different river segments: In cases in which results deviating from the boating criteria are received in the segment between Seven Mills and the Ayalon convergence point, boating will be approved in the river segment between Nahal Ayalon and the estuary alone. In the convergence point between Ayalon and Yarkon rivers a sign will be put up forbidding boating in the upstream segment (the convergence point and Seven Mills).
6.5 Alert in case of pollution: An alert about water quality unfit for boating will be sent out by the River Authority in cases in which an active source of pollution or infection has been found along the river which decidedly affects the quality of water. In cases of certain infection an immediate alert must be circulated according to reporting protocol, without having to wait for test results.
7. Reporting
7.1 The results of the weekly sampling will be passed on to the Water and Streams Department at the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Tel Aviv District in an electronic format in an Excel spreadsheet. The updated results will be uploaded to the River Authority’s website 24 hours after they are received. The weekly report will specifically state whether all stations have been sampled and whether any anomaly came up in the results. Any deviating result will be marked by a different color according to the different categories determined in article 6.1-6.3 above.
7.2 A report about any deviation will be passed on immediately after receiving the results from the laboratory by fax and by telephone to the Water and Streams Department at the Ministry of Environmental Protection.
7.3 A deviation in the resampling will require the River Authority to circulate an alert about the change in status once the lab results have been received.
7.4 The River Authority will immediately take the necessary steps to locate and neutralize the source of pollution and act to circulate alerts and notifications according to protocol.
7.5 Notification of water quality suitable for sailing will be passed on by the River Authority to the Ministry of Environmental Protection, Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality, the Daniel Amichai Center for Rowing and Nautical Studies, the boating clubs and the Authority website.
7.6 Messages and notifications will be passed on by fax and email to: rowing clubs, the website, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the 106 Tel Aviv municipal phone service center.
7.7 The River Authority will initiate and coordinate biannual work meetings with the Ministry of Environmental Protection .
7.8 At the end of each season, the River Authority will prepare a report in an electronic format which will include the results of the seasonal samplings, number of deviations, conclusions and recommendations. The aforementioned report will be presented to the Ministry of Environmental Protection and uploaded to the Authority’s website.
8. Signage: The Yarkon River Authority will install a flagpole for a flag signifying the boating status. The pole will be 5 meters high and will be installed on the left bank of the river, across from the Daniel Rowing Center.
8.1 Flag colors: If the quality of water is suitable for boating- the flagpole will wave a green flag, 1.5 meters in size. If the quality of water is unsuitable for boating- the flagpole will wave a red flag, 1.5 meters in size.
8.2 Flagging on the website- On the homepage of the Yarkon River Authority’s website, an interactive icon will be installed of different colored flags indicating the boating status.
8.3 Signage on parts of the river- In cases in which the quality of water is unsuitable for boating, a sign will be placed in the relevant segment of the river limiting boating beyond the sign’s location.
8.4 A general and clear directive about the need to stay away from the riverbanks and drainage areas will be passed on to all rowing centers and appear in all publications regarding boating, including the River Authority’s website.
9. Messages and notifications: The River Authority will circulate the results of the sampling as specified below:
9.1 By fax: A message about the suitable or unsuitable quality of water for boating will be sent in writing by fax, by the Yarkon River Authority, to the city call centers, the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the Ministry of Health, and the organizers of sporting and tourist boating activity in the Yarkon and will be uploaded to the homepage of the Yarkon River Authority’s website.
The message will be worded as follows: “In accordance with the water quality data in the saltwater segment of the Yarkon River and per the recommendation of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, this is to hereby inform you that the quality of water is suitable/unsuitable for boating until further notice.”
9.2 Publishing the results on websites- The results will be published on the River Authority’s website and on other websites, with a link to the River Authority’s website.
9.3 A mailing list for messages and notifications:
The Ministry of Environmental Protection national hotline
Public Health Department, Tel Aviv District, Ministry of Health
Head of Water and Streams Department at the Ministry of Environmental Protection
Head of Tel Aviv District at the Ministry of Environmental Protection
Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality Department of Maritime Sports
Boat Renters Organization (Ami and Ami)
The Daniel Amichai Rowing Center
The Center for Aquatic Education (Amnon Erez)
“Zvulun” Sailing Club
“Hapoel” Sailing Club
“Sea Scouts”
Adress: Kiryat Atidim Building B7, 3rd floor
Mailing address: P.O. 58292
Phone: 03-5460233
Email: [email protected]