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Integrated Approach for Efficient Water Use 
Case Studies

By Saul Arlosoroff (Senior Consultant)

Office: 1 Korazim st. Givatayim 53583
Mail: P.O. Box 951, Ramat-Gan 52109 Israel
Dir. Tel: (972-3) 571-0659 Office Tel: (972-3) 731-7950 Fax: (972-3) 731-7960
Residence: 2/15 Menorah St. Tel-Aviv 69416, Israel
Tel: (972-3) 648-3279 Fax/Tel: (972-3) 648-3278
E-Mail: Sarlo@inter.net.il Cellular Tel: (972-50) 507-742

1. GENERAL

This paper follows the paper on Water Demand Management (WDM) – which has been submitted separately. It deals only with case studies in the Middle East, East Asia, USA and Africa.

The case studies show clearly that water demand management can produce significant results, reducing demand and water wastage at levels of 20-40%, thus creating a new large source of water within the cities with relatively low investment per unit of water. Lately experts look at WDM not as a task to reduce demand only, but as an augmentation strategy to supply the unserved, stop intermittent supply and delay expensive capital investments in new water projects.

2. CASE STUDIES

2.1 GENERAL COMMENTS:

Selected case studies were chosen for this paper. The writer decided to start with Israel, a western Asian nation which has embarked on a comprehensive water demand management strategic plan from its early days as a developing country. It allows the experts as well as decision makers to have a significant retrospective view of the results 50 years later.

Other case studies selected deal with large urban centers in Asia concerning the objective of the conference. They are mainly from Singapore, China, Korea, Malaysia as well as short sections on the USA.

Case studies were selected to present different socio-economic conditions and diversified issues of water demand management. More comprehensive ones are presented from Israel and Singapore while the others present cases of national policies and selected cities, only.

2.2 CASE STUDY - ISRAEL*

SUMMARY:

This section focuses on Israel as a case study of water resources management with an emphasis on Water Demand Management (WDM).

Development and water experts, who have an interest in the Middle East and in the economic development process of semi-arid countries, often pose the following question: how does Israel, a semi-arid country, prosper with less than 300 cubic meters of water (per capita per year) for all its uses, while international organizations define arid countries with less than 1000 c.m./cap. /year as highly stress countries, where water becomes a severe constraint to socio-economic growth.

This section will try to clarify some of the policies, legislative basis and selected economic issues that enabled Israel to reach a GDP of $16000 per capita per year, supply much of its agricultural needs (except grains), export agricultural products, supply its population and industry and maintain a high standard of living, all with very limited fresh water resources.

The basis of the past strategy as well as the future one lies with a balanced combination of measures: legislative, institutional, economic, and technological focusing on water demand management, increased efficiency of water use in agriculture and the industry, re-use of most of its treated sewage effluents as well as the economic and integrated use of its total surface and ground water resources.

Potential future water markets (internal and possibly regional), continuous updating of its water pricing policies and future large scale sea and brackish water desalination will enable the country and its immediate neighbors (as part of the peace process) to continue their social and economic growth despite the water scarce conditions that all entities of the middle-east are facing.

INTRODUCTION:

The policy of Israel to meet the growing demand for water focuses on combined supply and demand activities and investments, while the long range solution lies with the total re-use of its wastewater as well as brackish and sea-water desalination. Present activities are aimed at delaying the high investments and the associated costs involved with the integration of large-scale sea-water desalination, an expensive unlimited source of water, which will be a major supplementary source of fresh water as of 2015 and on.

The 4 main instruments are:

1. Pricing and economic policies
Progressive block rates coupled with total metering system (for every farmer, house, apartment and industry), prices are updated automatically with a cost of living formula, removal of subsidies, water abstraction fees.

2. Re-use of sewage effluents.
Recent regulations have increased the quality levels of sewage treatment of effluents in order to maximize its re-use potential and minimize the health and environmental risks as well as enhancing the trading instruments for the exchange of fresh water allocations, with treated effluents mainly for irrigation purposes. The policy concentrates on reduction of fresh water allocations to the farming community and replacing it with treated wastewater effluents. (Total sewerage costs borne by the city).

3. Water conservation/improved efficiency of water use.
Continued policies concentrate on mixed tools including: (a) allocations, norms and progressive block rates for each sector, and (b) research, development and implementation of agronomic techniques as well as wide scale implementation of technological means to improve water use efficiency and reduce water consumption in the domestic sector, commercial, industrial and the irrigation of agriculture products as well as irrigation of urban parks and gardens.

4. Sectoral water allocations – based on norms representing optimal use.
Recently major changes in the approach toward the water sector have been initiated, including elimination of urban allocations, imposing sanctions for unaccounted for water (if rises above approved levels), and the possible introduction of “water markets,” trading with administrative allocations on an economic basis between members of a sector, between sectors, and hopefully in the future between Israel and its neighbors.

* This section is based on a research work done by the writer (S. Arlosoroff) as a researcher of The Harry S. Truman Institute, Hebrew University, Jerusalem.

Table of Contents

• Brochure
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• International Year of Forests
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• World Environment Day
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• UNEP Campaign
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