Israeli water-tech flows to thirsty California

◼ Parched California is already working with Israeli industrialists, government experts and academics on advanced water technologies and long-term strategies to lessen the effects of its severe drought. - Israel21

One example is the $1 billion ocean-water desalination plant Israel’s IDE Technologies is building to provide 50 million gallons of water daily in the San Diego area starting in November.

But that’s just a trickle compared to the flood of joint projects that could get flowing in the coming dry years.

...Both Israel and California have strong agricultural sectors. Four-fifths of all water used in California goes to agriculture.

Israel has developed a system for recycling, purifying, storing and conveying treated wastewater when and where farms need it, along with world-renowned drip-irrigation innovations to use the precious liquid most efficiently.

The revolutionary idea of using purified wastewater for farming was pioneered in the 1980s, when Israel’s natural water resources could no longer support its burgeoning agriculture.

Using advanced filtration technologies developed in Israel, treatment facilities remove contaminants to national and international standards. The water then flows to a buffer of 230 reservoirs built by the Water Authority and Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF), from which it is pumped to farmers for irrigation.