Authorities on Thursday and Friday sought to calm public concern over the risks of materials dumped about a kilometer (0.6 miles) off the southern Mediterranean coast to tackle algae that had days earlier forced five of Israel’s six desalination stations to shut down.

Channel 13 reported Thursday that, without initially informing the public, the Water Authority had dumped a cocktail of materials including large quantities of copper sulfate from the air along a nine-kilometer (5.6 miles) stretch of marine coastline.

The Health Ministry subsequently called for a temporary ban on fishing in the area, but emphasized that there was no proven risk, and that the ban was intended as a precautionary measure until further data was available. There is no ban on fish consumption.

The Energy and Water Ministry said in a statement that “the targeted dispersion of authorized substances in the sea was carried out with the approval of the interministerial Committee [for granting permits to dump substances] led by the Environmental Protection Ministry and the Health Ministry. The substances do not endanger bathers; environmental monitoring is currently underway in the area, and results are expected soon.” It added that potable water was “completely safe for drinking and household use without any concern.”

The Environmental Protection Ministry said the Health Ministry had reviewed the substances before and........

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