Desalination

In 2008 the Israeli government commissioned five large desalination plants along the Mediterranean coast. These used a novel reversed osmosis technique and unexpectedly slashed the cost of desalination from $1 to 40 cents per cubic meter. The prospect of natural gas from the Eastern Mediterranean fields should reduce the cost still further. There has been no official confirmation of these reports, which also suggest that the Israeli government may be concealing this information for some of the following reasons: Despite the fact that the cost of desalination has fallen, the government had guaranteed investors an inflated price for the water. Once Israeli consumers realise the truth they will demand lower water bills.

• Availability of fresh water no longer depends on rainfall, so Israeli farmers need not fear droughts.
• Makes Israel less dependent on food imports.
• Helps to replenish rivers and aquifers, including those which serve the West Bank.
• Helps to restore the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee.
• Can run on off-peak electricity.
• Enables Israel to provide water to the Kingdom of Jordan (as agreed in the 1994 peace treaty), and to the West Bank (as agreed in the 1995 Oslo II Accords), thus helping to promote peace in the Middle East.

• More expensive than untreated water.
• Vulnerable to rocket attack.

• Note also the chronic shortage of water in the West Bank.
• Other Israeli water resources, drip irrigation and the proposed Red Sea - Dead Sea pipeline.