In most municipalities sewage is not poured directly into the sea, there are often malfunctions in the sewage system, which in effect cause the polluted water to spill into the sea. In two cities, Nahariya and Acre, the sewage system pours the bulk of its waste into the sea without a process of purification or filtration. However, there is a body responsible for testing seawater for pollution and sewage, only the Interior Ministry has the power to actually close down beaches for health reasons. The Israeli standard on the quality of beach water allows for a 48-hour period between two tests of the water in question, with only the second test holding for the declaration that the beach water is polluted. And as the aim of the test is only to find out whether or not the beach can be used for bathing, the data obtained cannot be used to compare the quality of the water at different beaches.
Industrial waste is another form of pollution soiling the beaches.
The SPNI report discloses that the number of such permits recently reached 150.