Updated: 17/06/2008
Water scarcity and deterioration of water quality dictate the need for greater water efficiency and conservation in Israel. This may be achieved through a wide variety of measures including education and information, water-sensitive planning and water-wise gardening, to name but a few. In recent years, major water saving campaigns have been launched to increase awareness of the need for water conservation and to reduce consumption in all sectors.Israel is currently confronting one of its worst water crises ever. By the summer of 2008, the country's main aquifers and the Sea of Galilee (Lake Kinneret) will drop below red lines (safe minimum levels), endangering water quality. Any additional pumping may lead to the salination of freshwater and to irreparable harm to rainwater collection capacity. The contributors to Israel's water crisis include: - Increased water consumption - largely due to population growth;
- Decreased water supply - following four consecutive drought years, with the most recent drought (2007/8) especially severe.
- Impermeability of about 20% of the space available for rainwater penetration and adverse impact on the groundwater enrichment as a result of wide-scale construction on the coastal plain.
- Closure of drinking water wells - past pollution events, which contributed to pollutant infiltration to groundwater for dozens of years, led to the closure of drinking water wells and to the inability of pumping some 80 cubic metes of water per year.
Increasing Water Production and Reducing Consumption The State of Israel is taking steps to significantly increase seawater desalination, at a scope that will reach some 600 million cubic meters/year in 2013. This quantity is equal to about half of the fresh water which is pumped in Israel on average each year. Another important source of additional water is wastewater reclamation. The Ministry of Environmental Protection is taking steps to ensure that local authorities comply with their obligation to establish wastewater treatment plants which are capable of producing effluents for irrigation use which would replace fresh water, at a scope of up to 400 million cubic meters/year. In parallel to these national level steps, every individual can take part in the struggle to protect and conserve water sources, thus preventing the deterioration of this vital natural resource. The Chief Scientist of the Ministry of Environmental Protection has published a set of green tips on water conservation which are targeted at the general public.
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