MODERN IRRIGATIONS, A PREMISE FOR AN EFFICIENT MANAGEMENT OF THE WATER RESOURCES IN ISRAEL

Nathan Cohen*, Adrian Cioacă**

*“Ben Gurion” University, Beer Sheva, Israel
**”Spiru Haret” University, Bucharest

Abstract

In Israel, water is a very precious environmental factor. Although it is a small country, because of its position at the interference of three distinct geographic regions, according to the quantities of precipitations, Israel is divided as follows: the North (Kinnert and Har Hermon), the coastal region of the Mediterranean Sea and the South (Judea and the Negev Desert). So, to compensate the water deficit in the south, the water resources were reunited in a national network coordinated by Mekorot's National Water Carrier, a system made up of pumping stations, reservoirs, canals and pipes. Thanks to its use, the irrigated land used in agriculture grew from 30,000 ha in 1948 to over 200,000 ha at present. Beside aspersion, advanced water use techniques have been introduced, including dropwise irrigation, which introduces the water directly to the plants’ root area, in quantities directed by electronic sensors. They determine the moment when the water reserve drops to values near the critical thresholds of the different cultures, indicating the period and the area in which one needs to take action by supplementary watering. Our researches have approached a few areas by means of case studies, differentiating between the management of the underground water, residual water and desalinated water. So, the results obtained will contribute to a more efficient management of the water resources in this area, assuring the efficiency of the sustainable development programs in Israel.

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