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This Week

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THE PICTURE ..

1 HR 24X

Watery Debate

As drought continues, Israel continues
to look at its water options.

there is a more than 10 percent chance
that water usage will have to be cut.
Clearly, the country is using more
water
than it receives, and its reserves
Jerusalem
are in danger of being depleted.
any Jews know that on
The problem is water management,
Tu b'Shevat — the
not water levels.
Jewish new year for
There aren't enough regional water
trees, which falls this
systems
in Israel. The National Water
year on Jan. 28 — you - can plant a tree
Carrier
pipes
water from one area to
in Israel.
another.
The
Arava,
the Jordan Valley
In the future, however, you may be
and northern valleys have local sources.
able to buy a water certificate.
Recycled sewage water from the
Decades after the Jewish National
Shafdan, the water recycling plant in
Fund began its effort to reclaim the
the country's center, is being piped to
Land of Israel by planting trees, the
group's rallying cry has become building the Negev. The Golan Heights has a
series of reservoirs that store water from
water reservoirs.
melted snow for agricultural use.
"We have a drought, we have a prob-
But there isn't always enough rain
lem with water, and were using more
than we have," said Esther Weinstein, the each winter season.
"We would need five to six winters
JNF representative in the Negev, Israel's
like
this one to begin to make a recov-
arid southern region. "So we need to
ery,"
said Jack Gilron, a researcher in
become more efficient and find other
the
desalination
and water treatment
sources and better storage methods."
research
laboratory
at Ben-Gurion
Such a shift might have been in the
University's Institute for Applied
offing anyway, but recent drought years
Research. "In the last 'decade, the trend
have left Israel with no choice. Though
is that you have to assume the average
this winter has had its share of rain,
rainfall will be less as climates are get-
hail, sleet and snow, there still isn't
enough water in Israel's underground -, ting drier."
Successive Israeli governments have
aquifers.
looked at different solutions, from
Three consecutive winters of drought
building seawater desalination plants to
have taken their toll on Israel's fresh
recycling treated sewage, purifying pol-
water reserves.
luted wells or import _ ing water from
Although it's been raining steadily
Turkey.
since early December, filling the coun-
The problem often is discussed in
try's three main sources of fresh water
terms
of cost. For example, the price of
— the Sea of Galilee and the coastal
desalinated water is estimated at 60-70
and mountain aquifers — will be woe-
cents per cubic meter.
fully short.
But there's also a quality issue, Gilron
"We're in a psychological situation
pointed
out. How should Israel properly
such that everybody is still living under
desalinate,
purify and store the water to
the impact and threat of a drought,"
make
it
useable
for agriculture and
said Uri Shamir, a civil engineering pro-
drinking?
fessor and head of the Water Research
If the government doesn't build
Institute at the Technion-Israel Institute
desalination
plants, the economy will
of Technology.
suffer,
Gilron
said. The costs of not
Israel's largest natural reservoir, the
desalting
are
much
higher than the cost
Sea of Galilee needs another 600 cubic
of
desalination.
meters of water to be refilled.
Another option, importing 30-35
It has collected at least 20 cubic
million
cubic meters of Turkish water, is
meters of water this winter, but the
also
expensive.
"It's a matter of competi-
lake's level is far below the red line that
tion with respect to technology and
marks an emergency situation.
cost," Shamir said, adding that the gov-
Allowing for a growing population
ernment may want the connection to
and rising standard of living, Israel
Turkey
for political reasons.
needs 300 million to 375 million cubic
"Importing
water puts the competi-
meters of water each year.
tive
edge
on
desalination,
but it'll only
If that capacity isn't reached by 2004,

JESSICA STEINBERG
Jewish Telegraphic Agency

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1/25
2002

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