State pays over NIS 50 million to supply private desalination plants with equipment

Israeli taxpayers are paying more than NIS 50 million ($16.2 million) to buy membranes for use “in an emergency” at privately operated desalination stations.

The purchase follows the unprecedented shutdown of five of the country’s six desalination plants last month, as Mediterranean waves swept microalgae north from the Nile Delta to Israel’s southern and south-central coasts. Irrigation for crops in the south and parks and gardens nationwide was temporarily suspended, though supplies to homes were not affected.

Two plants, in Ashdod and Palmachim, were operating at around 80 percent capacity on Tuesday due to high seawater turbidity levels driven by continued microalgae contamination. At this level, solid materials can negatively impact pre-treatment systems and damage the sensitive membranes through which water passes at high pressure.

Desalination plants at Sorek A and Ashkelon were operating at full capacity, while Sorek B ran at around 50% capacity due to a technical malfunction.

The Hadera plant is the only one along the Mediterranean coast to have continued operating throughout, as it is located north of the microalgae.

All six stations are operated privately. Asked why the public had to pay for the emergency membrane stock, a Water Authority spokesperson said, “Should there be a need to use the emergency membranes, state authorization is required. This involves building an emergency stock in case damage accumulates on the membranes, and they require replacement.”

The spokesperson said the state had already spent about NIS 23.6 million ($7.66 million) on new membranes, and would spend another NIS 27 million ($8.77 million) by the end of this year.

The desalination plants provide up to 80% of Israel’s drinking water and are considered a strategic asset in the parched and drought-prone Middle East.