Many years ago I visited Israel on a business trip. The sight that still stalks my mind is the blooming in the desert. After millennia, the Israelis were the first who were able to make the desert bloom. That is vital to Israel and they have developed more than one way of solving the problem.
They have developed a different method of irrigation - drip irrigation. It is a way of irrigating plants via a system of perforated pipes that water crops with judicious regularity. It reduces water usage and increases crop yield, resulting in as much as four times more produce for the same amount of water. Israel uses drip irrigation in 75 percent of its farms. Other places only use it in 5 percent. Yet, agriculture accounts for about 70 percent of water usage globally.
They can turn seawater into tap water. Some feel this is a bad idea. But it does produce drinkable water.
Perhaps, the most important aspect of Israel's water is that there is only one water authority that sets both policy and pricing for the whole country. They can get things done. Israel recycles more than 80 percent of its wastewater for reuse in agriculture and other industrial processes, which is quadruple the amount of the second largest wastewater recycler, Spain. In California, there’s still strong public distrust of such recycling, even after rigorous treatment.
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