Israel's Water Authority said Monday a severe drought is expected to inflict Israel by 2015 and is forecast as the harshest drought to impact this dry country in recent decades, said a statement of the authority.

"The drought period ahead of us will be long, hard and its effect on consumers, nature and farmers may be dramatic," the statement said.

The prediction is based on a model of previous climate events, developed by researchers at the Hydrological Service at the Tel Aviv University and Mekorot, Israel's national water company.

According to the Water Authority, large governmental investments will help Israel to be prepared for the upcoming drought.

"More desalinization facilities are expected to be constructed by the end of 2013, in addition to purified sewage water for agricultural use, which would enable Israel's water system to overcome this crisis," said Alexander Kushnir, manager of the Water Authority to Globes daily economic newspaper.

In February and March, precursors of the upcoming drought have been the driest in the country since 1957 with low amounts of precipitation.

Israel has been using water from natural sources only, but extreme climate and accumulation of dry seasons in the last decade forced a change in its water utilization structure. Today about 50 percent of the water used in Israel are desalinized or recycled water. Endi

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