(haipo) City Council member Sally Abed submitted a question to the mayor, demanding clarification regarding the municipality's intention to advance a plan that includes diverting the stream's route and developing employment areas in the area. In its response, the municipality announced that the plan was being reexamined, but did not directly answer most of the questions raised.
In a question raised at the City Council meeting held last Tuesday, 7/7/26, Sally Abed describes the Saadia Stream as a complete ecosystem that includes the stream channel, six springs, floodplains, marsh vegetation and winter pools that constitute a habitat for a wide variety of animals and plants. According to her, this is one of the most important urban natural sites in Haifa, located in the heart of the future development area of Haifa Bay.
Abed notes that while the TAMA 75 plan leaves large areas around the stream and allows for its preservation, the plan promoted by the municipality, she claims, proposes to divert the stream to a narrow strip adjacent to Highway 4 and effectively turn it into a drainage canal, while significantly reducing the natural areas and harming the springs and floodplains.
As part of the query, Abed asked to know why the municipality is seeking to remove the Saadia Stream complex from the TAMA 75 plan and promote independent planning. What steps have been taken or are planned to promote plan HF/1704/G, which includes diverting the stream's route? Was a professional mapping of the natural values in the complex carried out, and in particular of the springs, floodplains, and the environmental implications of the plan?
The municipality's answer
In its response, the municipality stated that plan ХФ/1704/Г is currently undergoing further review. According to it, the purpose of the review is to formulate a balanced planning solution that will provide a response to both the development needs of the northern entrance area to the city and the need for the restoration, preservation and treatment of the Saadia Stream and its surroundings. It was further stated that the review is intended to balance the needs of urban development with the environmental, scenic and ecological importance of the area, from a comprehensive and long-term perspective.
However, the municipality did not directly respond to questions regarding the reasons for the exclusion of the complex from TAMA 75, did not specify what actions had already been taken to advance the plan, and did not address the question of whether a professional mapping of the natural values and the implications of the development on the springs and floodplains had been conducted.
The Haifa City Council, led by Yona Yahav (who is not functioning), is harming everything that is good in Haifa. It's not just Nahal Saadia, it's also starting the process of closing the lawn bowling field at the exit of the tunnels that serves senior citizens, the blind, students, and more... and where there are also competitions between other clubs in the country, without providing a suitable alternative.
First of all, it's the Ein El Saada stream, from which all the residents of Haifa drank their water. And not like you're changing its name to the Saadia stream. Who is Saadia anyway? Second, Israel doesn't know how to preserve natural resources. Every piece is beautiful. You're destroying it. Only money. Money is what interests you.
The Edia stream and the system surrounding it are a gem that must be preserved. Not every piece of green must be engineered and destroyed. Let built-up areas be renovated and what little remains be left.
I wonder why they are making Nahal Saadia a landfill, according to the posts above,
Maybe this way they will delegitimize this corner and gem of nature and turn it into another commercial center.
It hurts my heart..an amazing corner destroyed due to disrespect and insignificance🥺
????????????
Well done to those involved!
Hoping for good news soon 🙏
Joining the commenters here. Saadia Stream is a treasure! It is a treasure trove in one of the most industrialized areas in the country. I'm not even talking about the fact that there aren't many strong streams that can be enjoyed like this. It must be preserved as it is so that future generations can also enjoy it. It's time for everyone to get to know this stream!
Hey wow, finally. Finally, the beginning of
Small investments. We hope we hope this is the path to full conservation and investment.
May everyone there be strong and I don't have enough names.
Eric M. Thanks. And Hannah too.
The Haifa Municipality has been struggling to preserve the Saadia Stream for many years. If it weren't for volunteers and protests, the place wouldn't exist anymore. There is no stable stream in Haifa that flows for the enjoyment of hundreds of thousands of residents! The municipality is being run like a criminal and it is unclear how the Ministry of Environmental Quality and the RTAG are not leading this fight. We must not let the idiots Yahav and his gang touch the stream, period!!!
Saadia Stream – a natural treasure, it deserves to be a nature reserve. It has been miraculously preserved until now and deserves to stay that way with clear water and rare plants. It costs almost nothing! And our municipality is only thinking about putting it in a pipe and lining it with concrete.
The Saadia Stream sits on a very small natural area. What's the problem with bypassing it and preserving it for the benefit of the citizens and for the benefit of nature, which is shrinking.
Why is it so important to turn the world upside down? Why not maintain a natural, well-maintained, and pleasant balance for leisure purposes?
Please, take travelers and citizens with utmost importance.
Thanks
Thank you very much that someone noticed this amazing stream. Haifa's Sachna. That Haredim come to bathe in before Shabbat. It has a 100-meter-long Shiloah female. With renovation and bringing it to safety, it will be possible to bring thousands of tourists to the corner of Hamed that we have at Check Post.
It's like giving nuts to someone who has no teeth. A gem in the city that can be preserved and nurtured, and if you want, there's enough space for development.
Stupid municipality. Instead of seeing a place as a treasure, they treat it as a nuisance. A municipality of idiots.
Why are you insulting the idiots?
A body, like the Haifa Municipality, which plans industrial buildings along the river's route, discovers this fatal mistake, and then determines that the natural riverbed will be moved to another location, is not stupid. It is a criminal.
It should be noted that an expert appraiser was hired, who examined every piece of land in the plan, and the issue of moving the location of the Saadia Stream to another location did not bother him at all.
This time, you are absolutely right.
Exactly! 😡
Rumor has it that Sarit Golan, the chairwoman of the subcommittee, has become convinced that the criminal plan, which is destroying the Saadia Stream, needs to be amended. She fears that she will not have a majority in the subcommittee to amend the plan, due to future lawsuits from landowners.
There is no problem with this because building rights can be increased in exchange for reducing the area of the plots.
Are the members of the subcommittee all criminals?