Desalinated water can augment water supply

The Israeli Ambassador to Ghana, Sharon Bar-li, says water desalination is key to having a sustainable water system in any country.

Water desalination is converting salt water so that it may be suitable for irrigation and pioneering cost-effective ways of providing fresh water for regions where its availability is limited.

She added that alongside an innovative and advanced approach to water management, there is a realisation that in order to bring about the oasis for the next generation, humankind needs to not only preserve the water it has, but in essence “create” more water.

“Creating more water can be done through rapidly advancing technologies of different sorts of purification and reclamation. Sanitation projects and sewerage water are the basis for renewable water for agriculture and industry,” she said.

Citing the successes Israel has chalked up in turning the desert into an oasis, she said since Israel’s foundation in 1948 it has placed great emphasis on maximising its water supply, famously turning much of its arid land into fertile agricultural soil.

“The Israeli water industry is recognised today as a global leader in the water arena, thanks to breakthrough technological innovations in areas such as desalination, drip-irrigation and water security.

“Today, the Hadera seawater reverse osmosis desalination plant in Israel is one of the largest of its kind in the world. Israel reclaims 75% of its reused effluents in agriculture,” she noted.

Her Excellency Bar-li added that Israel’s total water consumption has remained nearly the same since 1964, in spite of a growing population, industry and agriculture. “By the end of this year, desalination plants in Israel will supply more than 500 million cubic metres of water per year, supplying 35% of the country’s fresh water needs.”

She was speaking at a seminar held at the Movenpick Hotel in Accra ahead of the biennial water conference, WATEC Israel 2013, slated between the 22nd and 24th of October in Tel-Aviv.

The seminar presented some of the technologies, and demonstrated how they can meet some of Ghana’s needs and challenges in the water sector. WATEC Israel is an international water technology and environment control exhibition and conference, taking place once every two years and bringing together Israeli and international business executives, political decision-makers and leading researchers.

This year’s conference will focus on Urban Water and Water for Industry, and will showcase most-advanced technologies and solutions from around the world. Alhaji Collins Dauda, the Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, in a speech read for him said government recognises the provision of accessible, reliable and equitable potable water as a basic human right.

Alhaji Dauda however said provision of sufficient and sustainable water for domestic and industrial purpose is fraught with many challenges. The challenges centre on rapid growth in settlements, growing sophisticated demands by water consumers, increasing environmental degradation, poor water resource management habits, falling sources of funding and investment.

He said with Israel’s decades of rich and unique experience in the management of water resources, prioritising and packaging knowledge and technology would help exploit vast opportunities in the water sector.