International Water & Irrigation

14 A conference on the topic of WATER at the Tel Hai College has provided an opportunity to get to know some technologies which may assist in streamlining the usage of water and improvement of its quality. The technological efforts focus on removing nitrogen, wastewater treatment streamlining and improvement of follow up on water supply to trees New studies attempt to develop more effective methods of removing nitrogen, the most recurring pollutant in ground water. The high concentrations of nitrogen place a limit on irrigation with treated water, according to a new report from the Water Authority. The challenges faced by the Israeli agriculture have become even more complex in recent years and place an ever growing burden on its existence. One of the more prominent challenges is the water shortage which effects water quotas allocated to the farmers as well as its price. Another challenge is the issues of water quality which may limit the scope of this water usage and also harm the quality of the crops. The Sixth Eitan Gabizon Water Conference has taken place at Tel Hai College recently. This conference has provided its visitors the opportunity to get familiarized with some studies and technologies to assist the farmers in handling some of the challenges they are facing today. Later on in this article you may find synopses for some of the lectures. Prior to their presentation, it is important to remind the reader some facts on which these are based. The Water Authority has decided that starting at the beginning of 2018 the farmers belonging to the national system will be allocated a water quota of 290 million cubic meters, and the final quota will be determined after the rainy season. The low precipitation winter has brought the water quota to be 261 million cubic meters. The Water Authority’s point of view demands preservation of the country’s natural water sources. Should the scope of the cuts in the quotas reduced, it will risk the country’s water sources that are already under their red lines, the reason for which is the recent and quite rare, 5 consecutive years of drought. According to theAuthority, it is important to understand that the division of water by quotas is performed by the Ministry of Agriculture, so if compensations are the issue at hand, these will be handled and promoted, as needed, by the Ministry of Agriculture. This, of course, is far from appeasing the farmers who continue and argue that the Authority does not handle their needs in a proper manner, and does not listen to their suggestions. Another important fact is the condition of the treated water provided to the farmers at the present. The Water Authority has published recently a comprehensive report that examined the treated water quality during the years 2006 - 2016. The report shows a significant decrease in the level of chloride concentrations measured in the treated water sources. The reason for this decrease is, of course, the widespread use of desalinated water, which stands at the preset at 585 million cubic meters per year. Water with a lower salt concentration improves the farmers’ ability to irrigate more, without limitation, with lower cost water. On the other hand, there were still high nitrogen concentrations in much of the treated water used for irrigation, and this fact limits the use of this water for agricultural uses. Only upgrading the Technological innovations that may ease a little the life of the Israeli farmer The Water Authority’s point of view demands preservation of the country’s natural water sources Zafrir Rinat