ISRAEL: Australian-developed water purifyer is installed in an Israeli town

Record ID: 396840

  • Title: ISRAEL: Australian-developed water purifyer is installed in an Israeli town
  • Date: 21st November 2009
  • Summary: KFAR SABA, ISRAEL (NOVEMBER 19, 2009) (REUTERS) PLANTS GROWING NEAR RAIN-WATER PURIFYING FILTER SYSTEM PLANTS (SOUNDBITE) (English) YARON ZINGER, PROJECT MANAGER FOR THE JEWISH NATIONAL FUND AND RESEARCH FELLOW AT MONASH UNIVERSITY, SAYING: "Basically this area will be developed and the bio-filter, the main cell at the bottom, will be fully planted with specific plants
  • Embargoed: 6th December 2009 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Israel
  • Country: Israel
  • Topics: Science / Technology,Energy
  • Reuters ID: LVAA7BFPZYZ7LAPNC32S1ANTJ066
  • Story Text: Rain water will no longer go to waste in the Israeli town of Kfar Saba, thanks to a newly installed bio-filter purifying system developed by Australian researchers at Melbourne's Monash University.
    Municipality leaders presented the new system to the public on Thursday (November 19).
    Yaron Zinger is a research fellow at Monash University and the project's manager for the Jewish National Fund which funded the programme in Israel.
    Zinger says rain water, which in urban areas is often polluted, can be purified using biological means.
    "Basically this area will be developed and the bio-filter, the main cell at the bottom will be fully planted with specific plants that treat urban run-off," Zinger told reporters at the site.
    Phillip Costa, New South Wales Minister for Water and Regional Development who headed the Australian delegation that participated in the system's inauguration ceremony in Kfar Saba, said that the Israeli-Australian collaboration could benefit Israel's residents greatly.
    "The co-operation between Israel and Australia is outstanding. This project is about improving the quality of the water after rain, so that it is then treated and then put into the aquifer so that the people of Israel can then use the water later. It's a very very good piece of technology. The technology includes bio-filter, which means that the water is put through a filtering system consisting of plants and special soil," Costa said.
    Israel, like Australia, has been facing a prolonged drought in recent years, resulting in unprecedented water shortages.
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