"The situation is bad, it is very bad. There is an acute water shortage in the country," water authority spokesman Uri Shor said.

With the rain quantities for this year's winter standing at 50 to 60 percent of the annual average, Israel's reservoirs today stand at a 10-year low, according to official figures.

And a string of four dry winters has brought the country's main water source, the Sea of Galilee, to its lowest level in 46 years.

The country's groundwater, including the western aquifer which it shares with the Palestinians, is also at a dangerously low level and the quality of its water is worsening.

The water authority intends to introduce in the coming days new regulations restricting private water consumption, mainly by limiting the watering of lawns from May to October to between dusk and dawn, Shor said.

Shor also said no new public or private gardens will be built, and anyone violating the regulations will face severe fines.

"Anyone can save around 10 percent of his annual water consumption without any problem," Shor said. Israelis annually consume around 750 million cubic metres of water.

Although Israel -- a world leader in desalination technology -- produces 140 million cubic metres of water suitable for both irrigation and drinking, the shortage remains acute, according to Uri Shamir, a professor at the Technion Institute of Technology in Haifa.

"Israel's water sector is facing an accumulated deficit of several years which today places us in a severe overdraft," Shamir said.

"In the coming year we can expect restrictions on water consumption, especially in the private and home sector watering, which counts for some 170 million cubic metres a year," he said.

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