Israel has answers to SA water woes – but will we listen?

TALI FEINBERG

This family of four managed to have a water bill of zero for July, because they used less than the free daily allowance offered by the City of Cape Town – about 6 000 litres a month. “We use bucket water to flush the loo and wash hands in the bucket water too. We use a very short wash cycle and don’t wash linen and towels as much as we used to.

“We use our tea cups multiple times over and don’t use dishes unnecessarily, to reduce dish washing. Josh and I have very short showers over a bucket and we flush with bucket water,” explains Janks.

This is what a typical Capetonian household is meant to be doing under the current level 4B water restrictions, which were implemented on July 1, but many homes are not so strict. “Level 4B entails a ban on all use of municipal drinking-quality water for outside and non-essential purposes,” explains Councillor Errol Anstey.

This means cutting water use to less than 87 litres per day per person, and the city advises  people to do this by only flushing the toilet when necessary, cutting showers to two minutes, collecting shower, bath and basin water and re-using it to flush your toilet, water the garden and wash your car; waiting for a full load before running washing machines and dishwashers – the rinse water from some washing machines can be re-used for the next wash cycle; using a cup instead of running taps in the bathroom or kitchen when brushing teeth, shaving, drinking, etc and defrosting foods in the fridge or naturally, rather than placing it under running water.

It is now prohibited to hose down paved surfaces, water gardens and wash vehicles with municipal drinking water. These must be washed with non-drinking water or cleaned with waterless products or dry-steam cleaning processes. Private swimming pools may not be topped up or filled with municipal drinking water. 

The mayor has also declared a local disaster in terms of the Disaster Management Act.  Councillor Anstey explains that this allows the city to decrease the time period to award tenders. 

The city has lowered bulk reservoir levels to reduce overall system pressure, and introduced diving to excavate dam floors to attempt to use the last 10 per cent of water available.

Anstey says: “There is a water resilience advisory committee with a range of external experts, from academia to key sector organisations. They will draw on and assess examples from different cities where there have been major achievements and work done in respect to water sustainability.”

When looking to international water experts, Israel stands head and shoulders above the rest in its conservation, agricultural and desalinisation efforts.

 “There has been visits to Israel by officials and leading Israeli companies have been in touch with the city and have submitted proposals in the latest call for information,” says Anstey. Outgoing Israel Ambassador Arthur Lenk backs this up, saying that Israeli companies have continuously worked to share their experience with drought.

In June 2016, the Ambassador hosted “Water Week” in South Africa’s three major cities, bringing Israeli experts to address government and business audiences. Professor Elion Adar, a world-leading hydrologist and one of Israel’s leading researchers in water sources, use and technology, spoke.

He detailed the technologies that Israel has successfully developed and now utilises in its journey from water scarcity to water abundance. He explained how these technologies could be applied in the South African context.

A key point of Adar’s presentation was that many existing technologies can easily be adapted for rural and small farming applications, exponentially multiplying farm yields for very low expenditure.

Lenk adds that in the year that has passed since Water Week, a number of those companies have returned to South Africa, built relationships and been involved in tenders and agreements. “I predict that we will be seeing more co-operation in this area, not less,” says Lenk.  

In addition, 20 – 40 South African professionals will be attending Israel’s biannual Watec Conference and Exhibition in Tel Aviv in September. 

Israel has demonstrated its willingness to partner with others in combating water woes. In fact, it recently signed an agreement with the Palestinian Authority and Jordan that will provide millions of cubic metres of drinking water to the Palestinians from a desalination process.

Meanwhile, Akinwunmi Ambode, executive governor of Lagos State, recently tweeted: “We’ll partner with Israel to develop water technology & environmental control strategies & find the best approach in managing our challenges.”

And when India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Israel some weeks ago, he witnessed the demonstration of sea water purification technology pioneered by Israel, at a water desalination unit on Olga Beach in Haifa.

But politics might lead South Africa to shoot itself in the foot. Following the Water Week in June 2016, Voice of the Cape wrote that “according to South African water expert Lorenzo Fioramonti, Israel is hiding its own water policies behind pseudo-technical discussions about water technology.

“SA-Israel Water Week isn’t just about finding solutions to our water crisis. It’s also a public relations campaign to combat a growing awareness in South Africa about Israel’s subjugation of its Palestinian population. It’s about putting an innovative, technological, caring face to apartheid, occupation and siege.” In the face of this kind of politicking, South Africa may miss the boat in gaining Israel’s expertise.

Israel has much to teach South Africans about adopting a new “water-wise” lifestyle. “It begins in childhood, when children are taught not to let the water run while they brush their teeth,” says Lenk.

“We have fines for companies who don’t fix leaks and incentives for those who do. We suggest starting with small steps before taking on big operations like desalinisation,” says Lenk. “Hopefully Israel will be able to help. It’s part of who we are.”

Janks agrees: “It’s a long-term reality and we need to adjust our habits accordingly.”