Utah officials traveled to Israel to see how one of the driest countries in the world finds enough freshwater to sustain its growing population.
Dawn in Tel Aviv, Israel, on March 30, 2023.• Utah Department of Natural Resources Executive Director Joel Ferry reads an Israeli nursery rhyme to the men and women who oversee Utah’s water systems as they ride in a van headed to government offices in Jerusalem.The children’s verse sticks in his mind as a stark contrast between how Israel views water and how it’s often viewed back home.
For five days, Ferry and 14 others from Utah met with Israeli government officials, tech startup companies, agriculture producers and research institutions to look at how they have gone from a nation of water scarcity — to water surplus. They conserve, reuse and desalinate water, heavily investing in technology to make it work.
Utah State Engineer and Division of Water Rights Director Teresa Wilhelmsen said Israel has “some advancements that we could really think about here for Utah.”. Ferry said the state is looking at whether some Israeli technologies might be applicable to Utah’s needs. Beyond that, some in the delegation would like to import Israel’s mindset on water.
Founded in 1948 as a Jewish state, Israel had to find its own water. The country treats water as public property controlled by the state — there are no private water rights. Water policy is set by the Israel Water Authority, said Director-General Lifshitz, who met with the Utah delegation at a long table in a conference room in Jerusalem where he said “all the decisions are made.”
Conservation is ingrained in the minds of Israeli citizens. There have been successful television ad campaigns and public outreach efforts to remind people “Israel is drying.” “We have about 470 water suppliers and they all have different pricing structures and different rates and, and it all depends on where you’re at, where you’re located, what your supplies are,” Hasenyager said.The Sea of Galilee — known in Israel as Lake Kinneret — used to supply as much as 30% of Israel’s drinking water supply. It’s now less than 10% because Israel has dramatically expanded desalination, taking water from the Mediterranean Sea and extracting the salt to create drinking water.
The wastewater is used to water crops, which are then sold in markets across the country. Israel reclaims about 90% of its water and uses it for agriculture. Israel is the world’s top user of reclaimed water, according to Mekorot. Barry Gluck, who heads U.S. business relations for the water technology company Wasens, noted the distinctions between Israel and Utah during his pitch meeting with the delegation. Gluck said Israel is “a leader in the world in water technology.”
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