Israel remains at the forefront of cutting-edge water technology, which it’s using to survive regional climate changes
By: JNS.org and United with Israel Staff
Israel’s Ministry of Energy and Water announced Monday that two new desalination plants will be built to offset the deficits of an extended five-year drought that has left Israel’s sensitive water sources at their lowest levels in nearly 100 years.
Currently, Israel has five active desalination plants, built in the last 13 years, to extract water suitable for drinking from the Mediterranean Sea and distribute the desalinated water through Israel’s national water carrier.
Each facility is expected to cost approximately $400 million.
The plan will include the expansion of pipelines for use in agriculture, and is intended to help Israel to rehabilitate dried-up rivers. The plans may include pumping fresh water into Israel’s primary source for drinking water, the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee), which has continued to suffer receding levels.
The Kinneret is also the primary feeder of Israel’s Jordan River, which runs south to the Dead Sea and is another body of water suffering severe ecological damage due to receding water levels.
Water accessibility is emerging as one of the most pressing issues humanity will be facing in the near future. With global warming and drastic climate change, water sources are becoming scarcer and nations around the world are encountering mounting water-related difficulties.
Israel is world-famous for its advanced water technologies, which can provide solutions to even the driest and most barren areas on earth. With many years of experience in making its southern desert, the Negev, bloom, Israel has become a leading force in providing aqua know-how to countries around the planet.
Although Israel has experienced drought in recent years, it is managing an over-capacity of water due to intense water management and desalination production. Over the years, Israel has transformed itself from a country with serious water shortages to a global water powerhouse, exporting its prowess to arid regions around the world where other countries count on Israel for help.