The economics of filling a lake with desalinated water

Israel recently inaugurated it's billion shekel reverse water carrier project[1], pumping desalinated water into the Sea of Galilee, Israel's largest freshwater lake[2]. It's being billed as an ecological move, aiming to restore the drying lake and saving the human and natural ecosystems that thrive on the lakes shores.As such, hard nosed capitalists might be sceptical of the value of such a project. Between wet and dry periods the lakes surface level can range by up to 6m. With a surface area 1...