American delegation to visit water desalination and purification facilities and a center for desert agriculture.
By TPS
Israel’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development hosted a high-level U.S. government delegation on Monday that has come to learn about water purification.
The delegation is being headed by Rodney Snyder, an advisor to US Environmental Protection Agency chief Michael Regan. Its five-day visit aims to increase agricultural, technological and commercial cooperation between the two countries in light of the climate crisis, with a special emphasis on water purification.
In recent years, with the increase in extreme weather events and the worsening climate crisis, Israel has become a technological leader in the reuse of water, as well as an international center of knowledge in the fields of irrigation, water resource management and desert agriculture.
In Israel, about 87 percent of the treated wastewater goes to agricultural use – the most widespread use of wastewater in agriculture in the world.
The visiting delegation includes representatives from federal agencies, water authorities and suppliers, water and engineering companies, national water associations, research institutes, and representatives of commercial companies from around the US.
The Americans will visit desalination and water purification facilities in Emek Hefer, Maayan Zvi, Sorek and Shapadan.
The delegation will also visit Kibbutz Ein Gedi, which is a center for desert agriculture, and the Intel company facility in Kiryat Gat.