Prof. Avner Adin: Israel lacks sufficient trained personnel to operate its existing and planned wastewater treatment facilities.
"Construction of the IDF training base complex in Ramat Hovav cannot be carried out unless solutions are immediately implemented for the problem of industrial waste and air pollution," said Prof. Avner Adin of The Hebrew University Faculty of Agriculture Soil and Water Department last week. He made the comment at a meeting of the Israel Water Association's annual conference, which this year focused on the water quality in Israel.
Adin, a water expert and international consultant, said the Ministry of the Environment was right in setting a policy in principle for placing responsibility for treating wastewater on individual enterprises operating in Ramat Hovav, but called for implementing an optimal plan over time to ensure productive and effective enforcement. He claimed that immediate adoption of innovative processes developed by Hebrew University and Ben Gurion University of the Negev could purify wastewater at the existing joint biological facility to provide an interim solution, at least until specific solutions are found for the severe wastewater problems of individual enterprises. He said the Israel Water Association was willing to provide a multidisciplinary team of experts to help solve the problem.
Adin said Israel lacked sufficient trained personnel to operate its existing and planned wastewater treatment facilities and purification systems. He added that unless the state quickly trained staff, hundreds of millions of dollars in investment in these facilities would go down the drain.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on May 22, 2005