A few weeks ago I posted that Israel’s water crisis is so bad that water might be rationed soon. I also mentioned that part of the problem Israel has had with addressing its growing water needs has been due to the insufficient handling of the Israel’s water plan by the government. Since my post, both stories have developed further.
The first is that Israel’s Water Authority is seeking to cut Israeli home water usage by 10% in 2009. Haaretz reported last week that the Water Authority plans to cut home water usage by
“distributing low-flow faucet aerators heads called chaschams to 1.2 million households around the country, limiting the watering of public parks and imposing a ‘drought fee’ on high-use domestic consumers.”
Watering of private lawns will become prohibited and public parks and businesses will be limited to certain set days and times. Several cities have already imposed water quotas.
In addition to this news, Desalination.biz reports that the Israeli government issued last week a request for information (RFI) “about the installation of temporary mobile desalination plants.” As a short-term solution that mostly coincides with when Israel might finally have a concrete water plan (2013), it calls for three desalination plants to all be up and running in the next year and last for three years.
At the end of three years, each plant in its entirety will have to be removed within 6 months and the area “restored to its initial conditions.” The sites for the plants are the seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) plants in Ashkelon, Palmachim and Hadera (which is still under construction).
It seems that the best move by the government so far, aside from issuing the RFI for the plants, is the plan to distribute the faucet aerators. The campaign can be even more effective if the government builds upon the water saving tips that it posted on several of its websites last year and creates a field team that will teach each household about water conservation and how to properly use the aerators.
[…] just 4 inches of rain a year, Saudi Arabia is already one of the driest places on earth. But unlike neighboring Israel, conservation is not part of the culture. Saudi water use is profligate, almost twice the world […]
[…] just 4 inches of rain a year, Saudi Arabia is already one of the driest places on earth. But unlike neighboring Israel, conservation is not part of the culture. Saudi water use is profligate, almost twice the world […]
[…] and possible water rationing have been in the news recently in California, Israel, Mexico, and Australia. As much of the water used is these regions is for watering gardens and […]
Att: Lisa Damast
I would very much like to get in contact with the authorities that have called for proposals for 3 RO plants to be up and running in the next year. My company manufactures mobile units as large as clients would like to see them and they can be installed anywhere.
Can you please assist me in getting the right telephone number or email address in Israel so that we may make contact.
Kind regards
Pieter Colyn
Johannesburg – South Africa
Israeli Government Starting To Address Water Crisis http://tinyurl.com/dfb4py
Israel Govt Plans to Address H20 Crisis: http://tinyurl.com/cjqurj
Israeli Government Starting To Address Water Crisis http://ow.ly/2J50