Israel's National Water Carrier, built in 1964, transports water from the lake to the population centers of Israel, and is the source of much of the country's drinking water. Israel also supplies water from the lake to Jordan. Increasing water demand and some dry winters have resulted in stress on the lake and a decreasing water line, at times to dangerously low levels. Today, tourism is again the Kinneret's most important economic activity with the entire region being a popular holiday destination. The many historical and spiritual sites around the lake, especially its main town Tiberias, are visited by millions of local and foreign tourists annually. Other economic activities include fishing in the lake and agriculture, particularly bananas, in the fertile belt of land surrounding it. The water level of the Sea of Galilee has dropped to just 15 inches above the "black line," the level at which the lake will suffer irreparable damage. Because of the dangerously low levels, the pumping of water from the Sea of Galilee, Israel's primary fresh water reservoir, was officially halted. Israel is in the midst of the drying winter since measurements began over 80 years ago, having received only 50 percent of average seasonal rainfall to date. And that follows four years of below-average rainfall, meaning Israel went into this winter with a big water deficit. Help sign my Petition to influence the Israeli government to speedly build a desalination plant specifically to pump one of the most historic / biblical sites in the world, to its former glory... before the damage is irreversible