World Water Day, 22nd March, 2017 In honour of World Water Day, whose theme for 2017 is Wastewater: how we should be reducing and reusing it rather than letting it go down the drain we are happy to share a short interview with Eng. Shimon Tal , founder and CEO of R.T.S. Water Ways, ex Water Commissioner of Israel (2000 – 2006) and Academic Director of Integrated Water Resources Management Programme at Galilee Institute. Located at the edge of the desert with semi-arid climate of few rainy days, scarce natural water resources and extreme changes in precipitation between years and different regions, Israel has been compelled to discover methods to reduce the consumption of water and enable the reuse of water. Today Israel reclaims 87% of wastewater for agricultural purposes, which is the highest rate of wastewater reuse in the world. Eng. Tal says that agriculture, considered to be a national interest, consumes more than 50% of the available water resources. However due to the growing population, fresh water resources in Israel have been diverted from irrigation to urban use. Israel has counteracted this, by motivating farmers to use marginal water resources, mainly reclaimed wastewater (treated sewage effluents). What key steps were taken to enable the utilisation of treated reclaimed wastewater for agriculture? Eng. Tal told us the following: Relatively low price of reclaimed wastewater for agriculture tariffs by comparison to drinking water tariffs for agriculture Regulation and a support system towards building sewage collection and treatment infrastructures, resulting in 94% of the wastewater being collected and treated today Regulation of disposal of substances into the sewage that might limit the usage potential Regulation of sewage treatment and treated sewage quality, holding sewage producers and treatment plants to sanitary and agronomical standards, which enable safe reuse of reclaimed wastewater in Agriculture Applied research of the threats of wastewater based agriculture development. Regulating sanitary aspects of reclaimed wastewater for agriculture, matching treated water and water quality to the irrigation and cultivation method Development of infrastructures for reclaimed wastewater utilisation by the National Water Company, private farmer associations and regional municipal councils When asked what holds for the future of wastewater in Israel Eng. Tal replied that wastewater is only part of the activity that the Israel Water Sector took as steps for its rehabilitation. “Establishment of 5 enormous seawater desalination plants which now supply most of the drinking water in Israel, affected water tariffs and it became cost effective to treat sewage effluents even for Industrial use and irrigation of gardens and parks”. Along with these activities the focus now is on development of new and better technologies in order to deal with quality and cost standards. Thank you Eng. Shimon Tal for sharing with us important insights about wastewater management in Israel. We wish you and all water professionals around the world much success in ensuring the most effective use of our most precious resource – water.