The effect of shallow saline groundwater pumping on the salt discharge into Lake Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) and its salinization potential

Lake Kinneret, Israel’s primary surface freshwater reservoir, faces ongoing salinization driven by a complex interplay of geological structures and deep saline groundwater sources. While the western and northern onshore and offshore saline spring systems thought to be the major lake salinization sources, 70% of the salts entering the lake come from disperse seepeges from the shores around the lake. The southeastern “Haon” shoreline is a potential location for major salinization of the lake due to high groundwater salinity below the lake (~25,000 mg/L of total dissolved solids) and higher hydraulic head compared to the lake level. There is a need to research potential actions to try and mitigate the salt discharge into the lake. This study investigates the use of pumping wells for extraction of the underlying brine to mitigate saline lacustrine groundwater discharge. We used continuous monitoring of two shallow wells with data from two other deeper wells at Haon beach, to construct a 2D cross-sectional stratigraphy for building a flow and solute transport numerical model. The model was developed using the FEFLOW code and was calibrated to the data from the monitoring wells. Building on this calibrated framework, simulation tests were conducted using an active pumping well to quantify subsurface dynamics and salt fluxes under stress. Results show that pumping the brine below the lake lowers the groundwater hydraulic head and potentially mitigate salt discharge. Furthermore, these results provide critical data regarding the feasibility of the recent plan to use the extracted saline groundwater in Lake Kinneret nearshore aquifers for desalination purposes, offering a scientific basis for water management strategies aimed at mitigating lake salinization.