To restore the reclamation system in southern Ukraine, after the destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station, Israel proposes to focus on the development of wastewater treatment and desalination of sea water
To restore the reclamation system in southern Ukraine, after the destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station, Israel proposes to focus on the development of wastewater treatment and desalination of sea water. This was announced by Denis Gamzin, designer of the Israeli Water Authority, during the conference “Israeli Water Supply and Agricultural Technologies – Experience for Ukraine” held at the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
“Israel has turned an environmental threat into a valuable resource. The country, which is located in the desert, reuses about 450 million m3 of treated wastewater, which is half of the water needs of agriculture, and 90% of treated wastewater is used for irrigation. In general, treated wastewater covers 25% of all Israel’s water needs, another 25% is desalinated water and 50% is fresh water,” said Denis Gamzin. According to him, in the next 25 years, the share of treated wastewater in Israel’s agricultural consumption will increase to almost 70%. “Israel is strengthening control over the quality of wastewater treatment and expanding the practice of secondary and tertiary use of treated wastewater,” added Denis Gamzin.
Israel is also actively developing seawater desalination plants. “There are currently three large seawater desalination plants in Israel with a capacity of 400 million m3. In the next 10 years, 4 more plants will be launched, and the processing capacity will increase to 1200 million m3,” said the designer of the Israel Water Authority.
According to Denys Gamzin, Ukraine has a great potential to use treated wastewater and sea water for agricultural purposes, primarily for the needs of agriculture. The large territory allows choosing rational locations for desalination plants, unlike in Israel, where, due to the lack of land, plants are located not near water sources, but where there is free land, sometimes in the center of the country.
Yonatan Tsadka, Director of the Department of Economic Affairs for Asia and Eurasia at the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, noted that modern water treatment technologies have emerged thanks to Israel’s policy of developing innovations. According to him, Israel is focused on innovative areas, especially in the circumstances in which Israel found itself. “There are national plans that allow the entire population to focus on creating breakthrough technologies that will be very important in the future. One of the driving factors is climate change. In this area, Israel has a certain advantage, and new challenges strengthen our resilience. Now we are facing the issues of migration of foreign workers and changes in supply chains,” said Yonatan Tsadka.
Vitaliy Holovnya, Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food, noted that the issue of efficient use of water resources and the search for new sources of water for irrigation is important for Ukraine. “This is a topical issue in connection with climate change and the loss of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant in terms of irrigation and water supply. Implementation of projects following the example of Israeli ones will help solve food security issues,” said Vitaliy Holovnya.
Gennadiy Chyzhykov, President of the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, noted that Israel has shown one of the best results during the war. “This country’s experience will be very useful for Ukraine,” he said.
Israeli Ambassador to Ukraine Michael Brodsky said that the Watec Israel conference will be held in Jerusalem on September 16-19, 2024. “This is a unique opportunity to see different technologies that have been working in different countries for many years and can be useful for Ukraine,” said Michael Brodsky.
According to the State Agency of Ukraine for the Development of Land Reclamation, Fisheries and Food Programs of Ukraine, the destruction of the Kakhovka HPP left 94% of irrigation systems in Kherson, 74% in Zaporizhzhia and 30% in Dnipropetrovs’k regions without a source of irrigation for a long time. In total, more than 350 irrigation pumping stations and about 1.1 thousand kilometers of reclamation canals cannot be used. (source: https://agronews.ua/news/stalo-vidomo-skilky-znadobytsya-chasu-na-vidnovlennya-systemy-zroshennya/)
According to the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine, in 2021, the volume of discharged wastewater amounted to 4.686 billion m3, of which 58% was normatively clean, 30% normatively treated and 12% polluted. (source: https://eu4waterdata.eu/images/pdf/library/Ukraine_5th_reporting_cycle_UKR_2022_final.pdf)
