Water in Israel: from scarcity to abundance - [CDURABLE.info]

Waterlink: Study trip on water in Israel

This French delegation of journalists and French experts on water, clean-techs, smart-cities, agriculture and sustainable development took a 4-day trip to Israel to learn about the many achievements of KKL-JNF in the areas of water and agriculture. The trip was organized by B’nai B’rith France, with the active participation of KKL France.

"Our goal is to present the Israeli reality in the field of sustainable development," said Norbert Lipszyc, delegate of B'nai B'rith in Israel. “Our ambition is to change the image of Israel in the media. It is by coming to Israel that people will get an accurate idea of ​​the country.”

Véronique Hauptschein, delegate of B'nai B'rith France, added: "It is important for us that we know Israel as it really is as well as the complex reality of the country".

As soon as we arrived, we met Anne Baer, ​​Expert in sustainable development and France-Israel technological partnerships, and Abraham Tenne, water expert, former president of the National Desalination Commission within the Directorate General of 'Eau d'Israel who spoke on the theme "How to close the gap between demand and water resources in Israel".

If the water poverty line for the UN has been set at just over 1,300 m3 of water per year and per inhabitant, in Israel you have to make do with a volume of between 300 and 500 m3 per year! A strong constraint that has become a major challenge. A High Water Authority has thus been created to ensure a quality, sustainable and available water resource for the next forty years. Knowing that the population is constantly increasing like everywhere on the planet with a growing demand for water.

The organization of the water sector in Israel follows the following pattern:

– The General Directorate for Water and Wastewater (of the Ministry of Infrastructure) is responsible for defining and then implementing the national water policy. It sets the tariffs for these, the price of water sold for agricultural use, or for domestic or industrial use, and it defines the distribution of available water between the various users, natural, domestic and municipal, agricultural and industrial ecosystems. . It decides on the necessary investments and launches calls for tenders for production infrastructure.

– The national water company MEKOROT creates, maintains and manages the national water supply network between the centers of production or extraction from natural resources and the municipalities or territorial authorities. The latter ensure the distribution of water to consumers and the collection of wastewater. MEKOROT also ensures the transportation of wastewater between municipalities and treatment plants.

– Municipalities and local authorities collect payments made by consumers for the water they use and for the local taxes they pay for wastewater treatment. Municipalities and territorial authorities come together to create and manage the wastewater collection network and the 120 wastewater treatment plants so that they can be recycled.

The network supplying farmers also includes reservoirs collecting recycled water and runoff water built by the KKL throughout the country. They allow welding during the dry season which often lasts 8 months.

It should be noted that the decisions of the National Water Commission (National Water Commission) are submitted to the national or regional planning bodies which must approve them and civil society is represented by right in these bodies through recognized NGOs. The fabric of environmental protection NGOs is dense, starting with the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, SPNI, the largest of all with 45,000 households that are members.

These NGOs therefore have, since the government decision in 2000 to switch to a green economy at least for water, agriculture and energy, an important role to play nationally and regionally, if they propose viable solutions for water rights holders.

IGUDAN: a huge effluent treatment plant

The day began with a visit to the main effluent water treatment plant in Gush Dan. It is one of the largest water recycling plants in the world. Located in Rishon-le-Tsiyon, its visitor center teaches the public about ecology through films, the simulation of a journey in an underground pipeline and explanations of the process of recycling water.

Israel has become a world leader in wastewater recycling: nearly 85% of Israel's effluent is purified and used for agriculture. The objective is to achieve up to 90% reuse of wastewater after recycling and treatment over the next few years.

More than 50% of the water used for agriculture already comes from recycled water. Increased water resources allow farmers to cultivate and grow the fields of the Negev. Purified water is relatively cheap for farmers, helping them earn a better living.

Water recycling not only saves valuable drinking water, but also avoids polluting rivers and seawater. Rigorous control processes and monitoring continuously ensure water quality. The purified water is thus of a quality approaching that of drinking water, it is suitable for all categories of agricultural crops and for the irrigation of public gardens.

This plant collects and treats wastewater from the entire Dan region, a central region around Tel Aviv, comprising 3.5 million inhabitants, 2.5 of whom are served by the Shafdan plant and the collection of wastewater that feeds it. This network, operated by IGUDAN, a basin association of 23 municipalities or territorial authorities, collects 370,000 m3 of wastewater per day from 2.5 million inhabitants and 7,000 industrial centers. This represents 40% of all wastewater in the country. In total, IGUDAN employs 100 people, including 50 for the Shafdan plant.

The water cycle in Shafdan is 1 day in the factory, then 400 days of finalizing the process in successive reservoirs, the last being a water table reserved for this use. The residual sludge is treated in order to produce biogas on the one hand and on the other hand, 70,000 tonnes of fertilizer that can be used by the farmers who also receive this treated water, mainly in the south of the country. By the end of 2016, Shafdan will be completely self-sufficient in energy.

Finally, IGUDAN has also created a visitor center which mainly receives primary and secondary school students, as part of the national program for teaching behaviors that save water and energy deployed throughout the national school system, part of the teaching of natural sciences.

– http://igudan.org.il/

Who wants to drink sewer water?

By Francis Pisani for Le Monde.fr | 09.02.2016

– Find out more about Who wants to drink the sewer water?

The Gilat Nursery: From Seeds to Forest

The journey continued south towards the Negev, with the vast green spaces dotted with flowers. There is currently a festival called “The Red South” that takes place every year in the western Negev with the participation of tens of thousands of people. For a month of excursions, activities for the whole family are organized and above all, walkers come to admire thousands of anemones.

Pablo Cherkasky, the director of the nursery, described to us the different stages of plant growth: "First we collect the seeds from the forests, we grow them in the nursery and then we replant them in forests, parks or gardens. Forest plants are usually propagated by sowing seeds and ornamental plants by cuttings. Part of the seeds are treated by refrigeration, soaking and various mechanical means to increase the germination rate.

Germination is done in a box under conditions of humidity and temperature which are controlled by a computer. The seeds undergo a disinfection process and are planted in containers. Then they grow in a greenhouse equipped with an irrigation system. The cuttings take root on heated tables, then are transplanted into boxes and placed under a fine mesh that gives them shade. They are watered by a drip system or by regular watering. When the seedlings are large enough, they are distributed throughout the Negev region where they are replanted. »

In this KKL-managed nursery, there are seedlings and seeds of thousands of species of ornamental trees and shrubs, which are distributed free of charge for public use, even if these seedlings are destined for private land. A recent trend is to plant as many nectar-producing bushes and trees as possible for the bees. This nursery contains more than 20,000 species and meets the needs of the south of the country. A sister nursery exists in the center of the country, in Eshtaol, and another in the north near Tiberias. Their total capacity is one million plants per year.

Research and Development in the South: Agriculture in the Negev

At the Research and Development (R&D) station in the south of the country, located in the Hevel Habessor, we met Liana Ganot, flora protection coordinator, who told us about the experimental research in agronomy carried out on site, with the aim of helping farmers to face the specific conditions of the climate and the soil, to save water, to control pests and to improve the profitability of the various sectors of agriculture.

Thanks to innovative cultivation methods and specific varieties invented by the agronomists of the R&D station, agriculture is flourishing in this region, despite the very hot and dry climate and the lack of water.

We walked through the R&D station and visited the various cultures. The tomato greenhouse is one of the most important places in the R&D station given that 70% of all of Israel's tomato production comes from the Negev. In the strawberry greenhouse, we were able to observe the very particular way of growing these fruits. Strawberries are grown hanging in the air to facilitate harvesting and limit pest damage. We also appreciated the beauty of the flowers grown in winter.

Nir-Am: the history of water

At the water museum of kibbutz Nir-Am we met Yaël Projeanne, who spoke to us about the way we live in kibbutz.

A museum that is housed in an old building, a historical vestige, which served as a pumping station for the first water distribution network in the Negev, set up in 1947. Inside the museum, Yaël tells us recounted the history of the settlement of the Negev, emphasizing the essential role of water in the history of the region.

When new settlements were founded in the Negev, the question arose of how to supply water to all these new kibbutzim. Ben-Gurion replied, “With 6-inch pipes” and that was done. Since then and to this day, water has remained the key to the development of the Negev, part of the desert has been transformed into a verdant region and life has returned to these once deserted arid areas.

This water museum tells how the Negev was awarded by the UN to Israel after the international organization's partition decision, thanks to a water story. It is a small museum frequented only by Israeli schoolchildren who come to take a lesson in pragmatism.

To prepare for the UN decision to divide the territory under British mandate into two states, one Jewish, the other Arab, a commission was sent to determine exactly where the border would pass. At the time, the British government forbade the Jews to create new agglomerations throughout the territory. The whole of the northern Negev was still desert, but it had been decided to bring water there by pipes from a coastal rivers exploited in the Tel-Aviv region.

Then overnight, 11 settlements were created on KKL-owned land and the land began to be irrigated. When the UN commission came to the region, which is known to be desert, they were welcomed by the villagers with flowers, fresh fruits and vegetables. Then we showed them where these crops came from. In contrast, the Arab leaders of the region refused to see the commission because they refused the decision of the UN. So the delegation decided to grant the entire Negev to the Jewish state because they knew how to make it profitable.

The Sderot reservoir: irrigating the fields

At the Sderot reservoir, which was built thanks to a donation from the friends of KKL from the United States, Canada and Belgium, it was explained to the group the role of KKL in the development of water resources. The KKL has built more than 230 water reservoirs across the country that collect purified effluent and rainwater and then return it to fields and orchards.

Meir Broukental, director of the Sderot sewage treatment plant, explained that the Sderot reservoir receives its water from the Sderot sewage treatment plant. In winter, when it is not necessary to water the fields, the purified wastewater accumulates in the reservoir which contains 1 million m3 of water and in summer the water is used to irrigate the fields and orchards.

Preservation and restoration of the Yarkon River Basin

The Yarkon is the river that runs through Tel Aviv. It has its source 23 km away, to the northeast, near the town of Roch-Ha'ayin. Since it is in the center of the most densely populated area in the whole country, it was for a long time extremely polluted, so much so that athletes who fell there when a footbridge crossing it collapsed under them were seriously poisoned. and one died of it in the early 1990s.

At the instigation of the SPNI, a Yarkon Basin Authority was created, bringing together all the riverside municipalities and several citizens' associations. This has succeeded in cleaning up the basin, bringing it back to life by giving it fresh water, previously taken by the water company for human use, and by cleaning it up. No more waste water is dumped there, either by municipalities or by companies, and the public has been made aware so that they do not throw anything away. Today we can go boating again without risk on the river and the objective of the basin authority is to allow everyone to swim there again in a few years, as we have been able to see firsthand, the offices of the basin authority being located on the edge of the Yarkon Park which runs along the entire course of the river in the city of Tel Aviv. A bike path now runs along the river almost from its mouth to its source.

The Yarkon River Rehabilitation Program led by the Yarkon River Basin Authority, which brings together all the municipalities on its banks, is exemplary of the plans and projects underway to rehabilitate all the rivers in Israel.

This river where, towards the end of the 1990s, it was enough to fall into it to be seriously poisoned, and is now used by the population as a leisure park where canoeing is safe. The municipality of Tel-Aviv even hopes to be able to authorize bathing there in a few years. Several projects have followed the same path, in particular these:– The Alexander River– The Kishon, which crosses the city of Jenin on its way and then the area of Haifa's chemical and petroleum industries. All the sewage along its route flowed into it. Now the water is clean, to the point that an ecological park has been set up along its banks, shared by the municipality of Jenin and the Israeli regional authority bordering its banks.– The Kidron, a river that crosses Jerusalem and is bordered by several Palestinian villages, whose rehabilitation is a joint project between the municipality of Jerusalem and the Palestinian National Water Company.

Kfar Saba Eco-District Bio Filter

This project developed by the Municipality of Kfar Saba with the help of KKL consists of collecting all urban runoff from a district, treat them with a biofilter adapted to irrigate a municipal park, these waters then reaching the water table.

Ariel Sharon Ecological Park on the former Tel Aviv dump

The rehabilitation of this site, where for decades the garbage of greater Tel Aviv was dumped, at the southern gates of east of the city, creates a large green lung for the whole region. Today it is a widely used model for teaching ecology in all schools, primary and secondary, in the country. There is an overhanging view of the whole city. The methane gas contained in the soil is extracted there, the soils are decontaminated in particular of the metals it contains and a recycling center, both for the recovery of metals, building materials or for artistic purposes has been set up there. developed.

Arid Zone Agriculture Laboratory of Ben-Gurion University in Beersheva

We met Professors Yosef MIZRAHI and Rami MESSALEM in their laboratory on arid zones. The first presented us with its development program, the introduction of new species of fruits and vegetables and cultivation methods adapted to arid zones. The second presented his work on the treatment of polluted and/or salty water by low-pressure nanofiltration, in order to use it directly for irrigating crops, the necessary energy being provided directly on site by the sun. It is a more economical method for agriculture, especially in arid areas far from the coast. As any desalination method produces very salty brines, he combines this with the cultivation of salt-loving plants, such as beets, certain varieties of olive trees or tomatoes for example.

– Yossef Mizrahi is an expert in the biological and horticultural issues of rare and wild fruit trees for cultivation in arid areas. He works on cactus biology, post-harvest physiology and fruit development, salinity tolerance and its impact on crop plants. He has built up a genetic bank of climbing-type cacti (pitayas), originating from South America, and he has created edible varieties through crossbreeding that we are beginning to cultivate. Since 1984, he has been exploring the wild fruits of the world and investigating their potentials for growing, picking, packaging, packaging and marketing, either as fruits or as a source of food or biological element.

– Rami Messalem is an expert on membranes used for the desalination of brackish or sea water and for the nanofiltration of wastewater. His idea on which he is working and for which he has set up a model farm (OASIS project) in the desert of the Arava depression, south of the Dead Sea, is to use solar energy to purify and desalinate all the water available locally by using nanofiltration which will leave the minerals useful for agriculture in the water (which we are obliged to reintroduce into the desalinated sea water in the country's large factories).

Its AGRISOL project, supported by the USAID fund, provides for the installation of 2 research centers: one in Israel, which will extend the OASIS project, the other in Jordan. Both aiming to develop and test a new generation of desalination plants using new membranes and solar energy to perform low-pressure nanofiltration. This limits the cost of installations and improves irrigation conditions using fully desalinated seawater. The two centers will carry out agronomic tests of various types of plants in order to determine the economic and technical viability of this new technology. Alternate cultivations of salt-sensitive, neutral and salt-loving plants will be carried out in parallel in order to also use the very salty brines resulting from the desalination process. The water used will be primarily the brackish water available in the basements of the southern desert areas in Israel and Jordan. These brackish waters are often present in the basements of the Middle East and of the entire Saharan and North African zone.

AGRISOL has set itself the following objectives: 1. To optimize solar desalination units by nanofiltration (NF) in order to limit energy consumption and reduce maintenance costs, in order to obtain an adequate supply of water desalinated suitable for irrigation; 2. To build two optimized solar NF units, one in Israel, the other in Jordan; 3. Assess the long-term technical and economic viability of these two units for the cultivation of at least two types of high value-added crops for two consecutive seasons; 4. Disseminate the results of the project to farmers in southern Israel and Jordan, the Palestinian Authority and the scientific community.

ASHKELON Seawater Desalination Plant

This was the first major seawater desalination plant, at its time the largest in the world using the desalination technique. reverse osmosis. It remains one of the most important, having today a real production capacity much higher than its nominal capacity. It is backed by a power plant to optimize its energy efficiency and a large part of the energy used in the process is thus recovered. The very salty brines are discharged into the sea but are very quickly dispersed, and therefore without any real impact on the environment, by the effluents from the nearby power station. The synergy between the two plants improves the overall energy balance of the two entities.

Water in the Middle East: Israel is the solution, not the problem

By Benjamin Haymann in Hydro-diplomatie - October 25, 2015

Among the Palestinian lies, that of water holds a special place. It makes it possible to accuse Israel of carrying out a cruel policy by making the Arab populations of Judea and Samaria and Gaza thirsty. The symbolic significance of such a lie is potentially very powerful and this is why it is particularly important to establish the reality of the facts.

First, the Palestinians and their supporters accuse Israel of managing Judea and Samaria's water. This territory being occupied according to them, Israel has no legitimacy to deal with such infrastructures. However, in international law, the rights and duties of an occupying power are defined in the Fourth Geneva Convention, which specifies among other obligations that the occupying power must manage and develop the infrastructure of the occupied territory. Thus, even considering Judea and Samaria as occupied, it is Israel that has the right to manage the water infrastructure.

The situation since 1967

When Israel took Judea and Samaria in June 1967, water infrastructure was virtually non-existent. Only four localities had access to running water, the wells were artisanal. Today, Israel has made the region benefit from all its know-how in water (such as drip irrigation, for example, which gives better yields with less water), and allows it to support economic development and agriculture in one of the driest areas in the world.

A common misunderstanding comes from a clash of cultures. In the Arab world it is common to depend on artisanal wells and rainwater, and it is rare to have to pay for water. On the other hand, Israel has installed a more Western system with substantial investments in infrastructure, with the counterpart of payment for the water made accessible by the end consumer. When Israel sends water bills to the Palestinians, some want to see this as “Israel stealing water from the Palestinians and selling it back to them” as Daniel Cohn-Bendit told the European Parliament. When a resident of Paris pays his water bill, does this mean that the State is stealing his water and reselling it?

The turning point of the Oslo Accords

In 1995, in the wake of the flourishing negotiations between Israel and the PLO, an agreement on water was signed as part of the so-called Oslo II agreements. It provides for the creation of a joint Israeli and Palestinian committee for the management of boreholes. And it provides for obligations on both sides for water management. Israel, via its company Mekorot, provides water to the Palestinians, the Palestinians themselves must manage their infrastructures in order to limit particularly costly leaks (30 to 40% of Palestinian water consumption against 10% in Israel) and manage the in order to limit pollution and to be able to reuse part of the wastewater. These last commitments have not been kept. Despite substantial international aid, only a sewage treatment plant has been built, which is largely insufficient to meet all the needs, and the leaks are still very high.

Israelis consume more water than Palestinians, yes, but…

In February 2014, the German socialist politician Martin Schulz came to make a speech in the Israeli parliament in which, using false figures, he denounced the inequalities in water consumption between Israelis and Palestinians. It's true, Israelis use more water than Palestinians. In the same way that France consumes more water than Haiti or that the United States consumes much more than the rest of the planet. This situation is explained by a difference in investments. While the Palestinians have not developed their sources of supply, Israel has carried out a revolution by massively developing desalination.

One would be tempted to say that the Palestinians are constrained by Israeli restrictions, but even that is incorrect. The Israelis gave the Palestinians the opportunity to build desalination plants on the coast, and the Europeans provided all the necessary funding. But that never happened, forcing the Palestinians to live with their own rudimentary springs and water provided by Israel as agreed and accepted by both sides in 1995. Mekorot figures even show that Israel goes beyond its commitments by providing more water than expected.

Israel to blame for water problems?

Thus, the situation is such that if the Palestinians were to become independent, their water situation would only worsen, they could no longer count on the Israeli supply nor on the possible desalination agreements. Moreover, the operating structures present in Judea and Samaria are largely Israeli. Their situation could even be more delicate than that of the Jordanians, who without any Israeli “occupation” already currently have less access to water than the Palestinians.

The Palestinians seek to sway public opinion by portraying Israel as a state that is starving an entire population. This accusation is false and defamatory, it incites hatred against Israel and is a sad reminder of the recurring accusations of ritual crime and poisoning of wells in Europe.

– http://crisedeleau.info

About SPNI

Israel is a country in strong ecological development. Multiple actions are carried out each year, both in terms of environmental protection and biodiversity and in terms of sustainable development.

Ten times more water in Israel's nature reserves than ten years ago

Changes in the law, desalination and the systematic treatment of wastewater for recycling have enabled this spectacular increase in the volumes of water returned to nature and the trend will continue.

– www.natureisrael.org/France

About the KKL - FNJ

The 21st century: the Green Century for the KKL-FNJ

At the start of the 21st century, the KKL became Israel's first green organization, following the evolution of its initial priorities according to the environmental needs of society. Moreover, sustainable development policy is now intertwined with growing environmental trends.

Friends of KKL around the world have stepped up to help people with reduced mobility, developing accessibility to KKL-JNF recreation sites for the physically disabled and facilities suitable for hearing and visual impairments.

Enormous efforts and resources have been devoted to reducing the distress of people in difficulty, to the work of preparing the land and building agricultural infrastructure. Several new resulting farms are thriving in the western Negev desert.

KKL-JNF has designed innovative research partnerships on water and forestry issues. Today there is cooperation with the American and Australian forestry administrations, the regional governments of the states of Alberta and Manitoba in Canada, and with forestry organizations in Spain, Italy, Greece and other Mediterranean countries. .

The research carried out by KKL-JNF staff, in cooperation with academic institutions in Israel, has already benefited other countries, in particular for the eradication of the gall wasp (Ophelimus maskelli) which causes enormous damage to eucalyptus trees, an important resource in the Far East and Australia. KKL-JNF's participation in the international Clean Up the "World" campaign, originating in Australia, is another expression of KKL's dedication to greening countries and promoting community projects for the 21st century.

110 years of success for the KKL: it would not have been possible without the support of its friends around the world, both before and after the founding of the state. Residents of Israel and visitors to the country experience a country that is more fulfilled and prosperous than ever.

Thanks to the work of KKL-JNF, the scars inflicted on forests by harsh climate, fires and war are slowly healing. For example, the Galilee forests damaged by rocket fire during the Second Lebanon War in 2006 have been rejuvenated by the planting of hundreds of thousands of new saplings that sprouted naturally or were planted with love and awareness. KKL-JNF is at the forefront of Israel's efforts to renew the Carmel forests damaged by the fires of December 2010. And through love, patience and care, the blackened forests are once again covered in green.

Forests are now alive with cyclists discovering nature in cycle paths that KKL-JNF has created. Wildflowers in and around KKL-JNF's forests bloom in winter and spring thanks to constant maintenance and the increased awareness of respect for nature and the environment that KKL has gradually instilled in the audience.

In cooperation with local authorities, the KKL is planting seven million trees - one for each citizen. These projects express, among other things, the contribution made by the KKL to the global fight against climate change.

Because growing a tree is like raising a child! Feed it and it will grow big and strong and then give birth to other trees… A child “fed” with love for Israel will become a responsible adult and will develop a strong Jewish identity – in turn he will have the abilities to pass on this love, his heritage, to future generations.

Through exciting educational programs, the KKL Education Department encourages environmentally friendly behavior. Whether it's during discovery trips or through innovative educational tools, children are immersed in these two concepts which interact with each other: love of a country and preservation of it, Israel.

These programs use formal or informal resources and focus on the values ​​of ecology, sustainable development, afforestation and environmental protection with an emphasis on practical work, hands in the ground.

– www.kkl.fr

About B'nai B'rith France

B'nai B'rith is an NGO, present at the UN, UNESCO, O.M.S, on the Council of the Europe, and in MERCOSUR. It is the oldest Jewish organization in the world present in 60 countries including 27 in Europe.

– Find out more about B’nai B’rith France