LETTER: World benefits from Israel’s expertise on water

Countries suffering from drought and water insecurity are implementing Israeli programmes focusing on affordable sewerage and stormwater recycling, inventive irrigation techniques, water from air and, importantly, desalination of sea and brackish water.

In 2016 an Israeli company, IDE Technologies, built the largest desalination plant in the western hemisphere, producing about 190-million litres of potable water of the highest quality daily for drought-stricken California while creating about 2,500 jobs and generating about $350m for the local economy.

The same technology offered to the Palestinians and surrounding Arab countries was turned down for political reasons. But there are IDE plants in the US, Israel, China, India, Russia and many other countries.

Contrary to Terry Crawford-Browne’s fictional diatribe, all existing desalination technology results in the production of brine (“Israel must admit where its water come from,” August 3). Because brine contains twice the salt concentration of seawater and does not contain oxygen, it sinks and spreads along the ocean floor where it destroys life.

A revolutionary Israeli process produces crystallised sea salt that can, as a desalination by-product, be commercially shipped and sold worldwide. It is the only alternative to desalinating seawater on a utility scale without the production of brine.

In addition, the process is run on solar power and natural gas, which is 7.4 times less expensive than electricity, and reuses 95% of the thermal energy expended. The use of electricity in desalination results in water 2.4 times more expensive and has the attendant destructive pollution dangers.

Rodney Mazinter
Camps Bay

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