Prime Minister Ehud Olmert today, 27.10.08, held a special discussion on the emergency situation regarding Israel’s water economy.  Finance Minister Ronnie Bar-On, National Infrastructures Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, Interior Minister Meir Shetrit, Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Shalom Simhon, Environmental Protection Minister Gideon Ezra, Government Water and Sewage Authority (http://tinyurl.com/6kjk66) Director Uri Shani and other senior officials attended the discussion.
 
After being presented with data indicating an expected water shortage of 1 billion cubic meters in 2009, Prime Minister Olmert said: “We are facing a serious problem.  According to the data, there will be a shortage that could disrupt the way of life of the entire country in a few years, if we do not deal with it now.  We have a severe water problem.  Technologically, we know how to solve the problem.  We are the most advanced in the world in this field and we must use this knowledge for the benefit of the residents of Israel.”
 
Pursuant to claims that were raised regarding delays in the construction of a desalination plant (http://tinyurl.com/6dv3xo) in Ashdod, with a capacity of 100 million cubic meters, Prime Minister Olmert instructed Finance Ministry Accountant-General Shuki Oren to – within one week – table a solution, including the shortest possible timetable for constructing the plant.
 
Prime Minister Olmert also instructed Finance Ministry Accountant-General Oren to find the fastest possible way to enable the purchase of additional desalinated water from the existing plants: “Expanding the existing plants is cheaper and faster and could add another approximately 100 million cubic meters.”
 
Prime Minister Olmert directed Ministers Simhon, Ben-Eliezer and Ezra to prepare a detailed paper on the further use of recycled wastewater (http://tinyurl.com/6fsf94) and the reasons as to why budgetary allocations for this purpose have not been utilized.
 
See http://tinyurl.com/5jzvjh for further details.