Let There Be Water: Israel’s Solution for a Water-Starved World

363 Pages·2015·3.97 MB·English

by  Seth M. Siegel

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Table of Contents
About the Author
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Copyright Page

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For Rachel Ringler,
wife, best friend, partner, and inspiration
As a face opposite water reflects another face,
so do people reflect each other’s hearts.
PROVERBS 27:19
Timeline
1920—The British Mandate of Palestine begins, covering the territory that today
is Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza.
1937—Mekorot, which grows to be Israel’s national water utility, is founded.
1938—Piped water is brought to the Jezreel Valley, south of Nazareth. The
large-scale water infrastructure project is the first in the Land of Israel in
modern times.
May 1939—The British White Paper is issued, severely limiting Jewish
immigration to Palestine. British Mandate officials make the first of several
claims that, due to inadequate water resources, Mandatory Palestine must
restrain population growth.
July 1939—In response to the White Paper, the Zionists develop a national water
plan showing sophistication in integrated water resource planning and
management.
1947—Through deep drilling, water is found in the Negev desert, a source of
irrigation for new desert farms.
May 14, 1948—The British Mandate for Palestine ends. The State of Israel is
declared.
July 1955—The Yarkon-Negev Pipeline opens, bringing water from the center
of Israel to desert farms in the south.
August 1959—A comprehensive water law is passed giving the Israeli
government control of all water sources and usage. A powerful regulatory
body, the Israel Water Commission, is created.
June 1–2, 1964—President Lyndon Johnson and Prime Minister Levi Eshkol
meet and discuss desalination at length during the first Israel state visit to the
US.
June 10, 1964—The National Water Carrier opens creating a national water
system.
1966—Drip irrigation equipment is offered for sale for the first time.
1969—The Shafdan wastewater treatment plant opens.
1989—A pipeline for treated water from the Shafdan facility to Negev farms is
opened.
1995—The Palestinian Water Authority is established as part of the Oslo II
agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
2000—Dual-flush toilets are made compulsory in all new installations in Israel.
2005–2016—Five large seawater desalination plants are built along the
Mediterranean coast providing a majority of Israel’s drinking water.
2006—The Israel Water Authority, a technocratic, apolitical successor to the
Israel Water Commission with broad powers, is created.
2010—Water pricing at real cost begins throughout Israel. Municipal water
utilities are established, removing control of water and sewage from Israel’s
mayors.
October 2013—The Israeli government declares water independence from
weather.
December 2013—The Red Sea–Dead Sea agreement is announced by Israel,
Jordan, and the Palestinian Authority.
March 2014—An Israel–California water cooperation agreement is announced.
Introduction
A GLOBAL WATER CRISIS LOOMS
You ain’t gonna miss your water until your well runs dry.
—Bob Marley DESPITE ITS NAME, there are no covert operations at the
National Intelligence Council. It is a sober, cautious US government
agency more akin to a university faculty club or a think tank than the
spy agency its name suggests. The council issues reports—some of
which are top secret—that integrate information from other
intelligence agencies to help government officials and other policy
makers take a long view of coming problems.1 So, it was odd that this
conservative organization would issue a top secret, and then partially
declassified, report with the provocative conclusion that the world is
entering into a prolonged water crisis.2
The first parts of the crisis are already being felt. It is no longer a surprise to
hear of a drought here, an overpumped aquifer there, or some social unrest in a
country no one thinks about too often. But if the intelligence report is correct, the
problem will soon begin to accelerate. It is less a matter of “if” than “when.” In
less than a decade, the report predicts, countries important to the US and to
global security will be at risk of “state failure.” The only questions in the report
are how severe the disruptions will be and how quickly they will be felt.
Water shortages may not occur everywhere, but hardly anyone will remain
unaffected for long. Twenty percent of the world population—about 1.5 billion
people—will be the first victims of this world water crisis, and already six
hundred million of them have begun to experience water shortages.3 Ultimately,
sixty percent of Earth’s land surface will be transformed. To begin with,