How to optimize Water
How to optimize Water
It’s extraordinary how Israel manages water. Israel water tech. It makes the most from all kinds of water resources – rainwater, municipal and industrial waste water and sea water. These achievements come from having to be self-sufficient.
In Israel, desert makes up 50% of the land area. Due to climate change and a five-year drought, there’s far less rainfall. Northern Israel receives 30% less than in previous decades. Even in winter it’s necessary to irrigate crops. Yet there is always water in the taps. That’s Israel water tech.
Don’t depend on Nature
Today more than 70% of Israel’s domestic water comes from five desalination plants along its Mediterranean coastline. Two more plants are currently being planned. No other country even comes close to this production capacity. That’s 600 million cubic meters of water per year.
The main company for desalination is IDE Technologies, a water treatment pioneer with 55 years experience in its field. It has 400 desalination and wastewater treatment installations in over 40 countries. IDE uses chemical-free biological and physical processes to remove bacteria, silt, algae and other suspended solids in its pre-treatment systems. The brine (salt residue) is returned to the sea with no harmful effects.
Reclaiming waste water
Israel recycles more waste water (over 85%) than any other country. Most of it goes via pipeline to farms in the Negev for irrigation. Currently 50% of the country’s agriculture grows on treated wastewater. This means that farmers can avoid using other water resources.
Drip irrigation is the system that delivers precious water close to the roots of plant. It’s an Israeli invention and the only technology to significantly increase the supply of food. Companies like Netafim keep refining drip irrigation techniques. More than 50 years after its first introduction, there are new features for in-clogging resistance, durability and operational efficiency.
Increasing water reserves
To give Israel even greater flexibility over its water resources, there is now talk of turning the Sea of Galilee (the Kinneret) into a reservoir for desalinated water. Desalination plants will pump their excess production there in winter, thereby creating an emergency reservoir for periods of severe drought. It’s a bold and innovative idea.
Other water innovations
Water-Gen has developed technology that captures humidity in air and turns it into drinking water. A series of filters purify the air and chillers then extract its humidity.
Utilis is an Israeli start-up that has revolutionized water leakage detection. It uses a satellite-mounted radar to map out where drinking water is escaping from the system. Since 2016, over 27 countries have used Utilis technology.
In water tech, like in many other fields, Israel is setting the pace of what is achievable today. In a world where the supply of drinking water is often in doubt, Israel’s contributions turn this into much more of a certainty.
This is a brief overview of Israel’s water tech scene. KEYZUNA is in constant contact with news-breaking companies in this field. Let us help you, our Japanese visitors, to identify the most suitable Israeli innovators for your specific water tech needs.
