By Justine Hemmestad
Last week, the Water Sum
mary Update has returned Iowa to normal conditions after four years of below normal rainfall and drought conditions. The monthly statewide precipitation for May was 7.51 inches across the state, improving streamflow and soil moisture conditions. In fact, March, April, and May were among the top ten wet- test months on record. The last time Iowa was without drought conditions was June of 2020. Somewhat reminiscent of emerging from drought conditions via an excessive amount of water is the Jewish holiday of Shavuot (June 11-13 in 2024), also called the Festival of Weeks (7 weeks from the Exodus to the bottom of Mt. Sinai, where Jews began the long process of receiving the word of God). Shavuot is a holiday marked by eating dairy (as Torah is the milk of sustenance), a long period of sleepless study, and water cannon and spray gun fights in Israel. Itamar Ben David says, “T he water ga mes for Shavuot have to do with the tradition that Torah gives life just like water.” Shavuot, a “holiday of water,” also means “oaths.” Coming full circle, water is one of the most important, if not the most important, elements to Israel. Israeli water technolo- gies are developed so that droughts won’t affect them. Israel does not need to rely exclusively on Renewable Fresh Natural water (aquifers and springs) with water de- salination and recycling/puri- fication practices effectively in use. However, the demand for water continues to increase with population growth and the rise in the standard of living. In 2007, the governmental Sewage and Water Authority was created in order to control and regulate water and wastewater issues. Of the systems invented in Israel, are drip irrigation, advanced filtration, advanced water leakage detection, rainwater collection and treatment systems, water security and smart-city technologies. Israel has also begun several campaigns to promote water conservation, such as: 1) Education, teaching how to conserve water, 2) TV campaigns launched by the Israeli Water Authority that address water scarcity in Israel to urge the public to save water; 3) Water management, where main water piping and pumping systems are managed with efficient budget allocation and water metering; 4) Water tariffs, so that Israel has not been subsidized by the government since 2008 and the water sector is economically stable; 5) Irrigation, as more than 50% of Israel’s water is from agriculture and gardening giving rise to drip irri- gation (a method invented in Israel). Israeli knowledge has shared and adapted water technologies in China, India, Vietnam, Taiwan, Italy, Brazil, Mexico, South Korea, Poland, Russia, Canada, as well as the United States. In fact, the need for water transcends political boundaries, and could serve as a bridge for peace in the Middle East. Aviv Lavie of The Times of Israel says, “Even before October 7 water was in a fragile state in Gaza.” Gaza distinctly suffers from a shortage of potable water, causing the land to teeter on the brink of collapse. The issue requires cooperation between Israeli and Palestinian sectors, even as the war rages, to sustain the water supply from Israel to Gaza. Since the beginning of the war and even under fire, this cooperation between Israel and Gaza demonstrates the inconsistencies of government positions and the complex reality on the ground. Though Israeli ministers had threatened to cease the disbursement of water from Israel into Gaza, Israel has rethought that position and is supporting cooperation between Israel and Palestine for the sake of water supply to Gazans. For mer chai r ma n of the Water Authority Giora Shalam said, “It’s impossible to leave millions of people without any water…After the water enters the Gaza Strip, it is divided among the municipalities, such as Gaza, Beit Lahiya, etc., which are Hamas-run authorities. Hamas then sells the water to the populace at an exorbitant rate, and cuts itself a fat check.” Palestinian water workers were even protected by heavy IDF security (the IDF troops “formed a ring around them” so Israeli forces “wouldn’t shoot them by accident” as they worked with COGAT to repair the damaged pipes, as the workers were using heavy machinery and welding tools near the fence and could have been confused for Hamas terrorists. Among the difficulties faced, said a source, was that, “every time they activated the stream the pipes on the other side blew up from the pressure. There were lots of attempts to fix it, and every time they did some dime store welding, it wouldn’t hold for even an hour…After turn- ing it on and off maybe two hundred times, it somehow worked in the end. I don’t know how the miracle hap- pened that the welding on the other side ultimately stuck.” The United Arab Emirates also assisted by helping to underwrite construction costs of a small desalination plant near Rafah on the southern side of Gaza’s border with Egypt, but it’s unknown if the facility continues to supply water post Israeli invasion. Major Itamar Ben David also adds, “We can only hope that Israel’s neighbors in this dry region will see Israel as it is - the oasis of the middle east.”
Comments