- Half of the world's population experiences a severe water shortage for at least part of the year.
- More than 3 billion people worldwide depend on water that crosses national borders, but only 24 countries have cooperative agreements for all of their shared waters.
- Water-related disasters have dominated the list of disasters in the last 50 years and account for 70 percent of all deaths related to natural disasters
Water in Israel -
Despite the extraordinary and efficient use of water sources, Israel does not have enough potable water naturally to satisfy all its needs. The great distress led the State of Israel to find solutions and become, starting in the early 2000s, an amazing model for solving water shortages mainly thanks to seawater desalination facilities, but also thanks to the recycling of waste water.
Water desalination in Israel -
As of today, 5 seawater desalination facilities are operating in the State of Israel: in Ashkelon, Palmachim, Hadera, Sorek and Ashdod. These facilities operate using the reverse osmosis (SWRO) method and provide excellent quality water to the national water system. The relatively small desalination plant in Eilat combines desalination from seawater and brackish drilling water.
Currently, over 33% of drinking water in Israel is desalinated water.
Wastewater recycling -
Another dramatic principle is the recycling of waste water for agriculture and industry. Israel is considered a leader in the field, with the Shapadan facility in Rishon Lezion collecting wastewater from about 22 cities in the Gush Dan area, which are purified to different levels in relation to the needs of agriculture and flowed south. Just for comparison, the water recycling capacity in Israel reaches a level of about 85%, where instead Second in the world stands Spain with only about 30%.
The desalination plant in Ashkelon -