Israel has pledged to release about 1 billion cubic feet of water to restore the biblical Jordan River. Israel, Syria and Jordan have diverted nearly all of the river's fresh water and the trickle that remains is mostly raw sewage. Related stories: Israel faces water contamination threat Israeli-Palestinian conflict muddies water meet Last year, Israel began building a $106 million complex to remove the sewage water and treat it for agricultural use. But that would have left the river dry. In a statement, Environment Minister Gilad Erdan promised to start replacing the sewage with clean water in 2013, saying it will "allow life to return to the river." Environmentalist Gideon Bromberg said that the promised amount is less than a 10th of what is needed to fully restore the river. "It's a first drop, but it's an important drop," Bromberg said. Follow Ynetnews onFacebook, Twitter and Google+