SA suffers from water shortages and faces additional challenges with regard to water management.

It is ranked the 40th driest country in the world, with fresh water resources under immense pressure. Floods in KwaZulu-Natal destroyed essential water infrastructure in April last year, and as a result of a heatwave water cuts were introduced in Gauteng, which caused sanitation issues.

There were also water restrictions in the Eastern Cape as a result of drought. In this context the experience of a small, semi-arid country like Israel can be beneficial. To understand the Israeli approach to water one has to start at the beginning — the bible. In the bible the word “water” appears 600 times, “cloud” 130 times and “rain” almost 100 times — and there are different words for different kinds of rain. Flood, 61 times. Dew, 35 times. And in one of the most famous episodes of the bible, Moses struck a rock to obtain drinking water. Moving from bible times to modern Israel, one of the most important decisions of the early days of it, based on the good of the people. As a result, even private land owners are prohibited from drilling for water without specific permission from government.

All water used has, by law, to be measured, and each home or business has to install a meter to indicate how much water is used, and how much they should pay for it. Moreover, government claims ownership even to rain water wherever it falls.

This approach might be considered authoritarian, yet it is widely accepted as one of the pillars of Israeli success. Another such pillar is education — Israeli schoolchildren are taught water conservation from first grade. It is not uncommon to see Israeli children asking their parents to stop wasting water. By the time these children grow up, water conservation is simply part of their lives.

A key element is the financing of the water. In 2008 the Water Authority of Israel succeeded in passing a law that ensured households pay the real price of the water they consume. The resultant price increases caused widespread public discontent, as people were getting the same water but paying more. But gradually the population accepted that major infrastructure is required to get clean water to their homes, desalination installations and sewage treatments plants, and reduce dependency on rain.

Each municipality has established a separate water company. These companies received the fees households pay for water and must use it to improve water infrastructure. Farmers have to pay the real price for water too, but in return are guaranteed a permanent and sufficient supply of water, even during the dry season.

One of the major causes of water loss worldwide is pipe leaks. In some cities such losses reached 40% or more. In Israel in 2006 the average figure was 16%. The Water Authority decided that this was unacceptably high, and incentives were offered to cities to reduce water losses. Municipalities were turned into innovation hubs, and one product was distant meter reading.

Meters were connected to a cellular device that sent information to municipal control rooms. If abnormal consumption is registered there is probably a leak. The device has saved considerable amounts of both water and money for consumers.

The biggest water consumer in Israel is the agricultural sector. In the 1950s Israeli farmers consumed more than 70% of available water, partly due to the use of archaic flood irrigation methods. Then drip irrigation was developed, which not only saved a considerable amount of water but also significantly improved production since each plant got exactly the amount of water it needed.

Conserving existing sources of water was essential for the survival of Israel. But these sources continued to be sparse and new sources had to be developed. One of these is the recycling of sewage water. Initially Israel was channelling its sewage through a dedicated pipeline that dumped it into the sea.

However, in 1973 a new sewage treatment system was completed that allowed recycled sewage water to be used for agriculture.

The search for new sources of water continues. Ever since the early days of humanity attempts have been made to convert salt water into potable water. Israel has been one of the pioneers in desalination and Mediterranean desalination plants now provide 80% of the water used by households. The Soreq, the largest Israeli desalination plant, is located about 1.6km from the sea and produces 165-million gallons of fresh water a day. Due to the unique technology used, this is the cheapest desalinated water in the world.

As with its other technological achievements, Israel is sharing its expertise in water management with other countries, including SA. One of the most prominent Israeli NGOs in the field of water is

Innovation Africa, run by Sivan Ya’ari. It uses Israeli technology to bring running water and solar power to the remotest corners of Africa. Right now in SA alone, more than 500,000 people enjoy running water thanks to Innovation Africa.

Israel does not have solutions to all of Africa’s problems. However, we have accumulated enough experience to be able to construct a creative environment that enables countries to deal with their challenges. Israel is looking forward to sharing this experience with SA, and in a few weeks the

Israeli embassy in Pretoria, together with the Jewish National Fund, will be hosting representatives of the Israeli Water Authority in SA.

• Belotserkovsky is Israeli ambassador to SA.