Israel's Water Crisis: Green Tips for Water Conservation

Israel is currently facing 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.

Think a Drop - Water Saving Tips

In light of the water crisis in Israel, the Chief Scientist of the Ministry of Environmental Protection has called on the public to take part in a joint effort to save water and maximize water efficiency.

The following measures, which can be taken by each and every member of the public, can bring about real water savings:

1. Install water saving devices (aerators) on all faucets and showerheads. These readily available water saving devices may save up to 40% of water consumption in faucets.

2. Install a dual flow toilet, which may save up to 30% of the volume of water consumed for flushing.

3. Conserve water in garden irrigation: Gardening in Israel consumes some 180 million cubic meters per year, an immense quantity which constitutes some 23% of the water consumed in the municipal sector. Yet gardens can be kept green and esthetic even when watering is reduced by half.
This may be achieved by the following means:

Install irrigation computers.
Switch to drip irrigation instead of sprinkling.
Switch to water saving plants. All professional nurseries can recommend a selection of such plants, with some nurseries specializing in water wise plants.
Replace lawn grass with different ground-cover plants, whose water consumption may be some 20% of the quantity necessary to water lawns.
Opt for trees which provide both shade and beauty, even in a small garden, cool the home environment and even the building interior, and are much more thrifty than many shrubs and annuals when it comes to water demand, fertilizers and pest control.
Remember that a vine pergola does not generally require irrigation even in drought years. Implementation of these measures has the potential to reduce water use in a garden from 800 - 900 cubic meters per dunam (1000 square meters), which is customary today, to 250 - 400 cubic meters/dunam.

4. Utilize drainage water- Built up urban areas prevent rainwater from penetrating the ground and enriching water reservoirs.
Therefore, the following measures are recommended:

Redirect rainwater from domestic drainpipes to exposed soil or a home garden or an open public space. Israel's Planning and Building Law obligates all new buildings to comply with these provisions.
In existing built-up areas, redirect drainpipes to garden rather than street (with the added bonus of a greener garden in the spring), disconnect drainpipes from the sewage system (which is illegal) and replace garden paving materials and pavements by a porous infrastructure based on a sand substrate and paving stones separated by gaps.
Pave parking areas with gravel with concrete edge strips rather than asphalt or impervious materials.
Research studies conducted in Israel in recent years demonstrate that municipal runoff is not contaminated by chemicals and is appropriate for groundwater enrichment. This is the case even for industrial cities with relatively high levels of air pollution.

5. Be alert for water leaks and drips. Report water pipeline leaks to the municipality.

6. Be alert for pollutant leaks. Report leaks from sewage pipelines to the local authority and report fuel leaks from gas stations to the regional offices of the Ministry of Environmental Protection or to local municipal units. In the workplace, report fuel and hazardous material leaks which may contaminate ground and groundwater to the responsible officials.

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