5 New Sewage Treatment Centers Started Operating and 4 Others are Completed These Days
The Ministry of Infrastructures continues with its sewage treatment policy in Israel:
Minister Ben Eliezer: The importance to the agricultural sector is immense. The new centers started operating in Dimona, Yeruham, Kfar Hitim, Dvir and Beit Arie. Data from the Sewage Administration shows that sewage treatment centers are established across Israel under a total cost of more than a Trillion NIS.
The Director of the Sewage Infrastructure Development Administration Alex Kushnir presented the progress stages in the establishment of sewage treatment centers in different regions throughout Israel, in a meeting that was recently held in the office of Binyamin (Fuad) Ben Eliezer, Minister of National Infrastructures. The meeting was attended by Hezi Kugler, Director General of the Ministry of National Infrastructures, and Uri Shani, Director of the Water Authority.
The Administration’s data reveals that 5 different sewage treatment centers were completed and handed over for operation recently: in Dimona, Yeruham, Kfar Hitim, Dvir and Beit Arie. The total cost of these centers is estimated at approximately 87 Million NIS.
In addition, Kushnir reported about additional treatment centers which are currently under different stages of planning and execution:
è 4 sewage treatment centers in final stages and on the verge of operation – in Beit She’an, Ha’solelim, Shoket and Gonen. Their total cost is estimated at approximately 91 Million NIS.
è 19 sewage treatment centers in execution stages – under a total cost of approximately 408 Million NIS. Four additional sewage treatment centers were promoted and started execution procedures during the course of the previous three months in Bitania, Netivot, Ein Zurim and Gadot-Aielet Ha’shachar. The total cost of these four treatment centers is estimated at approximately 126 Million NIS.
è 27 sewage treatment centers under planning, budgeting and tender stages - at a total cost of approximately 518 Million NIS, out of which approximately 165 Million NIS were allocated till today.
è 20 existing sewage treatment centers undergoing upgrade, in accordance with the regulations of Inbar Committee - The total cost of the upgrade is approximately 328 Million NIS.
è The total cost of these treatment centers = approximately 1,017 Billion NIS.
Binyamin (Fuad) Ben Eliezer, Minister of National Infrastructures, was pleased with the considerable progress in the establishment of the sewage treatment centers and said that “treated waste-water is of immense importance to the agricultural sector in Israel, especially due to the last four drought years. This sector took a hard blow as it carried on its back most of the cutbacks that were imposed on the Water Economy in Israel. Already today, Israel treats the absolute majority of its sewage, and about 70% of it is restored for agricultural purposes. We will continue with the policy that I set until we restore for agricultural purposes 90% or even more of treated sewage”.
Minister Ben Eliezer also requested to receive a list of urgent projects that need to be handled and that were not responded to properly through the issuance of corrective decrees.
Corrective decree is a decree that can be issued by the Director of the Water Authority, in order to carry out an emergency correction of deficiencies that might cause serious harm to water sources or put them at risk. The decree is issued against the contaminating agent, and if the deficiency is not corrected within a short and scheduled period of time, the authority is entitled to undertake any necessary action in order to prevent the said risk.
Such a decree was issued lately in order to extend the sewage treatment centers at Carmiel, Brener and Netofa, to repair the defects in the sewage collector in Ga’aton and in “Hosen” pumping station, and to connect Yanuh-Jat to “Tefen” sewage collector in order to prevent sewage from flowing into streams.