Free Republic

TEL AVIV – Israel is set to double its annual water supply to Jordan as the country suffers from a deepening water crisis, made worse by the influx of refugees flooding its borders since the Syrian civil war broke out. Next month, Israel’s national water carrier, Mekorot, will lay a new pipeline from the Sea of Galilee and through the Jordan Valley to provide the Hashemite Kingdom with 100 million cubic meters of water annually, double its current allocation, the Israeli website Globes reported on Wednesday.

Israel has gone through one of the driest winters in its history, but despite the lean rainy season, the government has suspended a longstanding campaign to conserve water.The familiar public messages during recent years of drought, often showing images of parched earth, have disappeared from television despite weeks of balmy weather with record low rainfalls in some areas. The level of the Sea of Galilee, the country’s natural water reservoir, is no longer closely tracked in news reports or the subject of anxious national discussion. The reason: Israel has in recent years achieved a quiet water revolution through desalination. With...

Remember all the years of being told to conserve 'every drop?' Well, times have changed: Today, Israel has so much affordable water, it can offer to export it. So why is this achievement being kept so secret?

Remember all the years of being told to conserve 'every drop?' Well, times have changed: Today, Israel has so much affordable water, it can offer to export it. So why is this achievement being kept so secret? In ancient times and even during the years of the British Mandate (1917-1948), the shortage of water in Palestine, as well as among its neighbors in the Middle East, had a decisive influence not only on the area’s economic development, but also on the political strife between Jews and Arabs. Technology has changed all this. Now, the ability to produce all the water...

Drawn from deep in the Mediterranean Sea, the water has flowed through pipelines reaching almost 4,000 feet off of Israel's coast and, once in Israeli soil, buried almost 50 feet underground. Now, it rushes down a tube sending it through a series of filters and purifiers. After 90 minutes, it will be ready to run through the faucets of Tel Aviv. Set to begin operating as soon as next month, Israel Desalination Enterprises Technologies' Sorek Desalination Plant will provide up to 26,000 cubic meters -- or nearly 7 million gallons -- of potable water to Israelis every hour. When it's...