JERUSALEM, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) — Israel will for the first time provide financial support for establishing infrastructure to reuse wastewater in agriculture after treatment, the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security said Monday.
A total of NIS 52 million (about $13.8 million) will be invested to reduce costs for farms that switch to using treated wastewater for irrigation, the ministry said in a statement.
Israel currently discharges into the sea a total of 68 million cubic meters of treated wastewater on average each year, at a cost of about 70 Israeli cents per cubic meter for purification and transportation of this water.
Redirecting this wastewater to agriculture could save nearly NIS 50 million per year, in addition to improving the water supply for agriculture and thus ensuring food security, which is a critical parameter especially in the context of the current conflict in Gaza, according to the ministry.
Israel uses about 570 million cubic meters of wastewater for treatment in agriculture each year, and the amount needed is continually increasing as a result of population growth.
