Talk to us about saving water
More cartoons online at Arthur Lenk is ambassador of
Israel to South Africa
FINALLY, the headlines here in South Africa are beginning to cover the enormous water challenges this country faces, as is detailed in an important editorial in The Star on November 3, which stated that “the only real question worth the breath it takes to utter is how do we save that which we still have?”
I believe that ideas for increasing supply should be investigated. There is a growing awareness of the dangers approaching South Africa as a dry country, and its water needs impact every aspect of its development. There is a need for developing short and long-term planning, and lessons from other arid countries could offer valuable insights.
Since biblical times, Israel has been arid and at high risk for drought and famine. See Genesis 47:4 and Deuteronomy 8:15 for descriptions on how deeply these factors impacted my people in ancient times.
But thankfully today Israel no longer faces such existential challenges. It has solved the water management dilemma through a variety of strategies and innovations.
Later this month, an Israeli-inspired UN resolution emphasising the importance of “Agricultural Technology for Development” will be tabled once again at the UN General Assembly. Earlier this year, The New York Times published a feature, “Aided by Sea, Israel Defeats Old Foe: Drought”.
The article detailed how “a major national effort to desalinate Mediterranean seawater and to recycle waste water has provided the country with enough water for all its needs.
“More than 50 percent of the water for Israeli households, agriculture and industry is now artificially produced.”
What Israel has done is not merely preserve its natural water sources; it has significantly increased the water supply by a massive investment in desalination, recycling and strict rules on water use.
Israel now has four major desalination plants to make the salt water from Israel’s Mediterranean Sea drinkable.
Today, 492 billion litres a year are added to Israel’s water infrastructure, with a goal of reaching 757 billion by 2020.
Israel uses advanced techniques of reverse osmosis, which is significantly cheaper, cleaner and more energy efficient than in the past. Private sector-funded projects, with three of the plants run by Israel’s IDE Technologies, offered 25-year management deals with the company sell-
Israel has been arid since biblical times –
until today after we began desalinating water
ing the water to Israel’s Mekorot public water system for a set price equivalent to eight rand per cubic metre. Israel is also a world leader in recycling water.
It treats 86 percent of domestic waste water for safe re-use in agriculture. This is 55 percent of the total water used for agriculture, far surpassing any other country in the world. Spain is second after Israel, treating 17 percent, while the US recycles 1 percent.
Obviously, these treatment techniques cause water in Israel to be more expensive than in South Africa. However, realistic pricing brings an interesting benefit beyond the confidence of long-term sustainability. Farmers have an economic incentive for more efficient use. Israel has mostly stopped growing cotton or exporting oranges (an orange is 87 percent water). Another major factor is the nearly universal use of one of Israel’s most famous inventions, drip irrigation. Drip irrigation cuts water use by up to 50 percent.
While the world average use is less than 5 percent, 90 percent of Israeli farmers use drip irrigation. The use of a plastic emitter in drip irrigation was developed in Israel by Simcha Blass in the late 1950s, and in 1966 Israel’s Netafim corporation developed the world’s first dripper – an in-line laminar dripper. Netafim is active around the world and has a successful local factory and agricultural turnkey project company based in Kraaifontein, in the Western Cape.
Another Israeli success is an integrated national plan for development and management of an adequate water supply. Israel, given its hugely complex geopolitical situation, sees a secure supply of water as no less than a national security issue. Similarly, economic pricing rules of supply and demand are not good enough.
Eilon Adar, director of Ben-Gurion University’s Institute for Water Research, states that “technology is not good enough. You have to change some of the regulations. You have to impose more limitations on water. Local consumers have to give up some of their rights.”
Success or failure on these issues will directly impact peace in my region. In late 2013, Israel, the Palestinian Authority and Jordan signed a memorandum of understanding on water management. Part of the agreement is increasing water sales from Israel to the Palestinians. Earlier this year, Israel and Jordan reached an agreement to share water to be produced by a planned desalination plant in Aqaba. In return for its portion of the desalinated water, Israel will double its sale of Sea of Galilee water to Jordan on the country’s northern border.
Leading Israeli water management companies continue to share innovations and experiences globally, and have shown interest in offering assistance to South Africa. An impressive number of South African officials and business leaders participated in Israel’s Water Technology and Environment Control Exhibition and Conference in Tel Aviv. The conversation between South Africa and Israel needs to be developed and deepened – it is in South Africa’s national interest.