Formed in 1937 by the Jewish Agency, Jewish National Fund, and Histadrut, Merkorot was mandated to supply, store, and distribute water for irrigation and domestic use to the Yishuv. The government of Israel became a partner in 1956, and in 1959, the corporation was chartered as the National Water Authority. Its activities included the search for new sources of water through drilling, the transport of water to arid zones of the country, and the conservation of water. Mekorot's crowning achievement was the National Water Carrier, an 81-mile pipeline project initiated in 1953 and completed in 1964 that carried water from the Jordan River and Lake Kinneret in the north to southern Israel and the Negev. Today, Mekorot supplies 1.3 cubic meters of water per year, which accounts for 90 percent of Israel's drinking water and 70 percent of all the water supply in the country. In addition, the company concentrates increased attention on water desalination, waste water reclamation and reuse, flood water capture, and water quality.
Historical Dictionary of Israel. Bernard Reich David H. Goldberg. Edited by Jon Woronoff..