A series of drought years have so ravaged northern Israel’s water supply that even a winter of plentiful rain will not suffice to reverse the situation, according The Times of Israel.

In fact, the Israel Water Authority forecasts better-than-average rainfall this coming winter; but after five years of severe drought, it won’t be enough to bring reservoir levels back to anywhere near normal.

“The aggregate shortage over the past five years of drought is enormous,” it said in a statement. “The natural water sources lack some 2.5 billion cubic meters (660 billion gallons) of water. We need an unusually powerful winter to make up these shortages.”

(LINK).