| Yarkon River | |
| Country | Israel |
|---|---|
| Cities | Tel Aviv, Petah Tikva |
| Source | Tel Afek |
| - location | near Rosh Ha'ayin, Center District, Israel |
| Mouth | Mediterranean Sea |
| - location | Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv District, Israel |
| - coordinates | |
| Length | 27.5 km (17 mi) |
The Yarkon River (Hebrew: נחל הירקון, Nahal HaYarkon; Arabic: نهر العوجا, Nahr el-Auja), also Yarqon River, is a river in central Israel. The source of the Yarkon ("Greenish" in Hebrew) is at Tel Afek (Antipatris), north of Petah Tikva. It flows west through Gush Dan into the Mediterranean Sea. El-Auja, Arabic counterpart, means "Meandering".
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The Yarkon is the largest coastal river in Israel, at 27.5 km in length. The Yarkon formed the southern border of the vilayet of Beirut during the Ottoman period.[1] The river became increasingly polluted after the 1950s, many blaming this on the construction of the Reading Power Station which is situated near its mouth.
When the river’s headwaters were diverted to the Negev via the National Water Carrier for irrigation purposes, the state of the Yarkon declined. As sewage replaced the flow of fresh water, habitats were destroyed and flora and fauna disappeared. This was exacerbated by continuous discharges of industrial effluents and municipal sewage into the rivers, which allowed algae to multiply.[2]
In 1988, the Yarkon River Authority was established to revitalize the river and make sections of it suitable for sailing, fishing, swimming and other recreation. Water quality improved after the construction of modern sewage treatment plants in Hod Hasharon and Ramat Hasharon. The river was dredged to restore its original depth and natural flow. River banks were raised and reinforced, hiking and bicycling paths were built, and picnic and fishing areas were developed with the help of contributions from the Australian Jewish community via the Jewish National Fund.[2]
On July 14, 1997, four members of the Australian delegation to the Maccabiah Games were killed and 60 injured as a result of the collapse of a temporary pedestrian bridge over the Yarkon. The deaths were eventually traced to a fungal infection caused by aspiration of the heavily polluted water.[3]