Israel is a world leader in the quantity of wastewater it recycles for use in agriculture, yet most of the wastewater is treated in facilities that have reached their capacity, the state comptroller says in his annual report.
About a third of the treated wastewater does not meet quality regulations. As it is used for irrigation, it could endanger the environment and public health, the report warns.
The increase in wastewater alongside the slow development of wastewater treatment plants has resulted in sewage being discharged into streams without proper treatment, causing environmental and sanitary hazards.
Furthermore, 40 percent of the wastewater in 2021 (the most recent year for which the state comptroller found data) had not received a level of treatment that would enable it to be used on all fruit and vegetables.
The report notes that recent years have seen a rise in the number of malfunctions in the sewage treatment system that were not reported to the public.
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