On Wednesday, 19 August 2026, the Sharon Drainage and Rivers Authority confirmed that a solution has been completed to sewage flowing into Nahal Nirbata from the Betzavta neighbourhood. Faulty cross-connections there had channelled sewage into the stormwater drainage system, and from there into the stream, for more than three years. Harish Municipality built a shaft and a diversion line that intercept the wastewater before it reaches the stream.
The faulty connections themselves have not all been found and repaired, and some lie on private property. The new system is meant to protect the stream until the sources are stopped, and afterwards to serve as a backup.
For years the stream also received wastewater from eastern Barta'a. Work on a new sewage line, costing roughly six million shekels, began in May 2024 and was completed in December 2024, ending that discharge. In early 2025 it emerged that Betzavta's cross-connections were another source, and testing by the Zalul environmental association found high concentrations of contamination.
Planning for the wider Nahal Nirbata area is now beginning in parallel. The stream corridor is set to become the principal open space serving Harish South.
Source: חריש סיטי (Harish City), 20 August 2026.
