1 Wastewater and Water Re-Use in Israel Eng. Alexander Kushnir Director General Israel Water & Sewage Authority March 2012

2 Overview Israel’s Water Challenges Nation-Wide Domestic Wastewater Treatment and Re-Use in Agriculture Next steps Conclusions

3 Israel is located in an arid region of the world. Continuous nation-wide efforts and innovations have played a vital role in minimizing overconsumption. By responding to the unavoidable challenges of water scarcity, Israel has become one of the world leaders in water conservation Challenge: Minimizing the gap between supply and demand Minimizing the gap between supply and demand

4 Key Historical Innovations: 1960’s – Construction of the National Water Grid: transports water from the Sea of Galilee southwards, irrigating the Negev desert. 1980’s– Droughts and increasing water demands – Initiated re-use of domestic effluent for irrigation 2000 – Droughts and further increases in water demands – Initiated large scale seawater desalination Challenge: Providing Consistent, Sustainable National Water Supplies Throughout the Past, Present, Future: Improvements in water use-efficiency in all sectors. This includes new methods of reducing water demands and water losses.

5 Large-scale re-use of treated wastewater in agriculture and other sectors is the biggest step towards sustainable water-use.Large-scale re-use of treated wastewater in agriculture and other sectors is the biggest step towards sustainable water-use. Decreasing future desalination requirementsDecreasing future desalination requirements Towards a sustainable balance Added Supplies: Preserve natural water resourcesPreserve natural water resources Preserve water for the environmentPreserve water for the environment Allocations for Nature:

6 Challenge: Managing the Quality and Nation-Wide Distribution of Israel’s Many Unique Water Supplies Sea of Galilee and Watershed Fresh water aquifers Brackish water aquifers Storm water Effluent (treated domestic wastewater) Desalinated water Greywater - Future increases in the safest, most economical way. Each of these originates in different locations, has different quality-levels, & has different energy-requirements for supply.

7Challenge: Water Shortages in Agriculture Irrigation with domestic effluent By 2016: Increase the proportion of tertiary or tertiary- plus level effluent to 90%, to enable its unlimited irrigation. Advanced irrigation systems (eg. drips released immediately beside the roots) Maximize use of storm water Crop tolerance of: brackish water, minimal water Innovations: The most cost-effective water-energy balance is obtained by using these methods of reducing demand and re-using resources.

8 Next Steps (Improvements Within 5-7 Years): Israel will increase use of the total national effluent produced each year from 80% to 90% Percent of National Effluent Used % Effluent Quantity for Irrigation:

9 Effluent-Quality for Irrigation  Monitor and ensure all quality parameters to prevent any potential long-term harm.  Reduce salts by combining desalinated water with natural potable water. Results: higher effluent quality  higher plant yield & lower water requirements Currently: Next Steps (Improvements Within 5-7 Years):  Raise effluent quality from secondary to tertiary to increase tertiary-level effluent from 36% to 90%.

National Consumption: Agricultural Sector 144 (14%) 400 (38%) 500 (48%) 100 (7%) 900 (67%) 350 (26%) If effluent were not used in agriculture, desalinated water production would be required (a more costly alternative) to supply the agricultural sector’s needs

11 Currently, effluent provides ~38% of the water used for agriculture in Israel ….and plans are to increase this to 67% by the year 2050 Increasing Proportion of Effluent in Agricultural Consumption

12 Next Steps: Improvements in Wastewater Purification & Re-Use in the Next 5-7 Years Quantity – Increasing the total percentage of reused effluent from 80% to 90% Quality - Upgrading tertiary-quality effluent from 36% to 90%

13 Options in Effluent Management Effluent Re-Use Systems – National, Regional, Local Tariffs – True cost, Government subsidy, Cross-Sector Financing Maintenance – Government, Private, Both

14 Conclusions Water shortages have led to national-level innovations in water conservation, re-use, and desalinated supplies. These have made Israel one of the world’s leaders in water use. The Israeli model can provide assistance to the global community; not only to arid countries. The most cost-effective methods have been used to reduce water demands and re-use resources. Nation-wide use of effluent provides almost 40% of the agricultural sector’s water. During the coming 5-7 years, effluent that is used in the agricultural sector will increase in both quantity (use of 90% of all effluent ) and quality (90% treated at tertiary-level)

15 Thank you ! Don’t Waste Your Waste!