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1-Page Summary of Let There Be Water
Overview
Israel is a country that’s 60% desert. It has an agricultural sector and a growing population, but how can it have enough water to support all of those things? Israel proves that necessity plus innovation equals success.
In this article, you’ll find out how a government can solve their water problems by dedicating resources to solving the problem.
As we face the potential for water shortages in a warmer world, it’s critical to learn from Israel’s expertise with water technology. This passage will explain how Israeli currency and stamps highlight the importance of water; how a small pipe leak revolutionized agricultural use of water; and why removing salt from seawater changed the face of Israel forever.
Big Idea #1: Water mindfulness and long-term planning set the foundations for water self-sufficiency.
Deserts cover 60% of Israel, a nation that receives little rainfall. Despite this fact, the country does not suffer from water shortages. In fact, it has enough surplus water to export to neighboring countries and teach other nations about wise usage of water. This is because Israelis respect their limited supply of water and are taught in school how to minimize its usage.
The history of water mindfulness goes back to ancient times. The Jews used rain prayers for centuries, and the currency had images that celebrated water management. Water was also a vital part of Israel’s early days since their greatest resources were in the north near Lebanon and Syria, but that wasn’t where they needed it most. They needed more water in Tel Aviv and the southern Negev desert because those areas didn’t have enough for growing populations or profitable agriculture. So, they developed an infrastructure project to transport surplus water from northern Israel to central and southern regions.
The National Water Carrier project in Israel was completed and it helped the country to become more self-sufficient. However, this wasn’t the end of innovation for them because they were able to do even better things later on.
Big Idea #2: Israeli scientists came up with innovations such as drip irrigation and sewage water treatment.
A Jewish water engineer named Simcha Blass noticed something peculiar about a farm. He looked at some trees that were planted in rows, and he noticed one tree was much taller than the others. After examining the area, Blass saw that there was a leak in an irrigation pipe near the base of the tall tree. He suspected that this small leak had helped to make it grow faster by providing it with just enough water to thrive on.
So, Blass created a new water-saving irrigation method that revolutionized the way farmers watered their crops. Before this, most of Israel’s water was used for agriculture, but after this innovation only about 30 percent of its overall water consumption went to farming.
Drip irrigation is a more efficient way to water crops. It also allows for double the crop yield, which makes it an effective solution to food shortages and famine.
Israeli scientists have also pioneered the treatment and reuse of sewage water. They used to dump their sewage without treating it, as many nations do today. But they now reuse over 85 percent of their sewage water. How?
Israel has a unique system that cleans water called sand aquifer treatment, or SAT. It uses fine sand to filter the waste water and supply it back for agricultural use. Every year, more than 100 billion gallons of water are saved using this process.
