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GET Israel: Topic 10 – Eshkol and Sapir Site

Posted by ncw872

National Water Carrier

By Shyam Chandra, Sara Bhaidani, Charis Lee

On September 15th, 2022, our GET Israel trip visited Mekorot, Israel’s national water carrier company that supplies Israel with 90% of its drinking water. More specifically, we visited the national water carrier’s Eshkol and Sapir sites — the pumping and filtration facilities located on the shores of the Sea of Galilee — to gain a deeper awareness of Israel’s national water infrastructure and treatment practices.

We had spent a large portion of our trip visiting specific desalination and treatment plants, so this was an especially engaging experience to tie everything together from a national perspective. Our visit began with an immersive water show that emphasized water’s significance in the history of Israel’s origin as a nation.

Water show experience.

We learned that around 85% of Israel’s current water supply comes from desalination, 10% comes from ground and surface water like natural springs and aquifers, and around 5% comes from the Sea of Galilee itself. The amount of reliance on the Sea of Galilee as a water source has reduced dramatically because the sea has been losing around 240 million cubic meters of water per year from heat and evaporation.

This experience helped us realize the harsh reality of Israel’s water supply (if innovations in desalination hadn’t alleviated water burdens). On average, there are only 40 days of rainfall in Israel per year, almost completely condensed to the rainy season (October – April), and every six years there is a severe drought. At times, springs will completely collapse, especially ones located nearby the Sea of Galilee. When it comes to aquifers, various contaminants from industrial processes and sites, like gas stations, have seeped into the groundwater. Mekorot is responsible for monitoring these changes in the water supply and ensuring that Israel’s population has safe and reliable water at all times of the year.

Floor map of the Sea of Galilee and surrounding areas.

During our visit, we got to see all five stages of the filtration process. It was fascinating to see how two independent filtration sectors were used to reduce the spread of problems in order to be able to run the plant 24/7.

View of filtration reservoirs from the Visitor’s Center.

Beginning with stage one, our tour guide illustrated the usage of Polyaluminum chloride (PAC) on flocculation/coagulation within incoming water. In this step, the aggregates sink to the bottom of a sedimentation pond forming sludge, and the remaining 99% of pre-treated water is returned to the sedimentation area. Then in the second stage, the water is moved into a standing operational reservoir where certain fishes are used to remove impurities and nuisances that bloom in the reservoir (i.e., particles, plankton, snails, algae, etc.). In stage three, the water is placed in the center filtration plant where another round of coagulation is used to remove additional bacteria, pathogens, and particles. Here, the particles are caught by an anthracite substrate, and the water is further purified through the use of a passive coil. Moving to stage four, the filtered water is advanced to a vacuumed reservoir where hypochlorite is added as a disinfectant. Lastly, in stage five the filtered water (10x better in quality than international standards) is transferred to the national carrier pipeline.

Scaled models of the Eshkol and Sapir sites (1).

Scaled models of the Eshkol and Sapir sites (2).

While this process is able to deliver 1.5 billion cubic meters of water a year through the 85 km long main national carrier pipeline to the Yarkon-Negev system to be distributed, there are still three parts of Israel that do not have access to this reliable water source. One of the major goals is to expand the water distribution and sewage pipelines both South to North and West to East. Highly impressed with the inner workings of this system, Mekorot did give us some food for thought on how to address their biggest challenges involving pushing back water into the sea of Galilee and dealing with the decreasing levels of the Dead Sea.

Sinking levels of the Sea of Galilee.

The Global Engineering Trek (GET) to Israel is jointly organized by the Northwestern Center for Water Research (NCWR) and the Israel Innovation Project (IIP). This program is focused on the topic of water (GET Water-Israel) and is offered to all first- and second-year Northwestern undergraduate students. GET Water-Israel is co-sponsored by McCormick Global Initiatives, the Institute for Sustainability and Energy at Northwestern (ISEN), the Crown Family Center for Jewish and Israel Studies, NCWR, and IIP.

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GET Israel: Topic 9 – Sorek and overall desalination water supply in Israel

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By Iphigenie Bera, Destiny Lara, Damien Koh Tze-In

Introduction:

On September 16th, 2022, the Israel GET group visited the Sorek Desalination Plant, the biggest desalination facility in Israel. This trip aimed to gain further insight into Israel‘s water problem and learn about the desalination process in detail.

To open the discussion on Israel’s water situation, the speaker from Sorek highlighted the entire world’s water situation; he showed that only 0.62% of all water on the Earth is readily available to humans and animals. Additionally, by showing the individual factors contributing to the net water change in Israel, he stated that the country faces a shortage of 700 million cubic meters of water every year. Hence, justifying the need for desalination plants like Sorek.

Currently, there are five desalination plants already operational around Israel. They all provide a total of 597 million cubic meters of potable water every year. Once fully functional, two more desalination plants are expected to bump that number to 897 million cubic meters. With several factors, such as population growth and increasing standard of living, Israel will only require more desalination to sustain its home, industrial, and agricultural usage of water. Desalinated water makes up 75% of water for domestic use. The goal is to have 100% water supply for domestic usage from desalination.

Process:

The desalination process goes through several steps to provide drinkable water to residents of Israel. Sorek uses reverse osmosis due to its low power consumption and efficiency in desalination. The desalination process at Sorek can be divided into four processes, from intake from the sea to post-treatment for consumption. Processes are pre-treatment, micronic-filtering, reverse osmosis, and post-treatment.

First, Sorek carries water 1.85km from the Mediterranean Sea to their facility through an intake pipe. The intake pipe has a series of nets to prevent sea animals from flowing in the pipes, although some creatures, like jellyfish and barnacles, are sucked in. There are also brine output pipes that return brine back to the sea.

The intake pipe transferring water to the facility. At the bottom you can see jellyfish and barnacles that were accidently sucked in.

The water is then passed for further micronic-filtering by percolation in coal and gravel layers to remove smaller particles such as microplastics and sand. The sediments, after filtration, are removed from the top of the coal and gravel layer by pressure. The water then goes into the primary desalination process, reverse osmosis.

The flocculation basin separate suspended solids from the water. Here is an image of the suspended solids floating on top. Remaining impurities are removed through dual media gravity filtration.

Dual media filter

In reverse osmosis, high pressure is applied to the salty water and then passed through a semipermeable membrane that only allows water ions to pass through. Because of the mineral deficiency of desalinated water, water is then passed through post-treatment, where minerals such as magnesium and calcium are added to meet consumption needs. Water is then transported in the water carrier pipelines for domestic usage.

An image of the membrane used in the distillation process displayed in front of the Sorek Facility.

One of the challenges desalination plants, including Sorek, face is the high energy required to operate the plant. Desalination takes about 3.4% of energy consumption in Israel. There are plans to increase the number of alternative energy sources such as solar and improve power-saving desalination techniques.

Post-treatment involves re-adding minerals like carbon to the water, cleaned out during the distillation process.

The water from the Mediterranean Sea is now ready to drink!

Reflection:

It is fascinating how Sorek can transform salt water into drinkable water. This is a process we were not familiar with in the United States. It is also a process that seems to amuse many Israelis. When talking to our taxi driver about the GET program, the driver did not know his drinking water came from the sea. The one problematic thing is if distillation is purifying the water too much. Our guide mentioned that not enough magnesium is added to the water, which can lead to health problems. Although water is not a primary source of magnesium, if agriculture is watered with desalinated water, the food might also lack magnesium. We wonder if there will be any problems in the future with drinking desalinated water.

Students walking through the Sorek facility

The Global Engineering Trek (GET) to Israel is jointly organized by the Northwestern Center for Water Research (NCWR) and the Israel Innovation Project (IIP). This program is focused on the topic of water (GET Water-Israel) and is offered to all first- and second-year Northwestern undergraduate students. GET Water-Israel is co-sponsored by McCormick Global Initiatives, the Institute for Sustainability and Energy at Northwestern (ISEN), the Crown Family Center for Jewish and Israel Studies, NCWR, and IIP.

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GET Israel: Topic 8 – Masada National Park and the Dead Sea

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Water Management and Water Issues

By Peter Pinder and Nikhil Sriram

Masada National Park and the Dead Sea

Day six was filled with adventure for the group. After spending a restful night in a hostel in Masada, the group began the day with a tour of Masada National Park, spent some time at the Dead Sea, and ended the day with discussion and reflection on some of the history and water resource issues and solutions in modern and ancient cities of the region.

Masada National Park

The group’s visit to Masada, which means “Fortress” in Hebrew, was a fascinating combination of ancient history, challenges in water management, and natural beauty. Masada sits on top of a rock plateau and overlooks the Dead Sea. The fortress was originally built by King Herod of Judea between 37 and 31 BC. Masada is famous for being the site of a siege undertaken by the Roman Empire in 73 AD, led by commander Flavius, against 1,000 Jewish rebels known as the Sicarii, who were led by Elizar. Rather than submit to being enslaved by the Romans, Elizar convinced his people to opt for death, and it is believed that mass suicide was committed in the fortress, though archaeological evidence is unclear.

Image from the top of Masada, pathways
leading down the mountain can be seen, along with the Dead Sea in the background

In terms of water management, Masada is quite unique. Masada’s only natural water source is flash floods, as the nearest spring is too far. As a result, the inhabitants of Masada designed elaborate systems to capture the water from flash floods through channels that flew into massive cisterns on the cliffside where water was held. From there, the water would be carried up to the fortress using donkeys and vassals. The pictures below show a model depicting the water channels related to Masada’s plateau location, as well as a cistern, which was utilized to store water for several months.

Image of a large cistern, used for storing water

Model of Masada featuring the water channels that captured water from flash floods and stored it in cisterns

We were also able to draw connections to the religious and pleasurable uses of water when observing a Roman bath along with a Jewish mikveh, which we discussed in our previous blog surrounding our visit to Jerusalem. It reiterated that water carries importance not only practically but also ceremonially.

Model of Roman bath, which the group observed in its actuality during the tour

Image of Jewish mikveh, utilized for ritual cleansing

Overall, the visit to Masada National Park was excellent. Though it felt as though we were baking at times (even at 9 am, the sun was quite strong!), our tour guide Jordan was fantastic and highlighted the important connections to water present in Masada. Though it is now a tourist attraction and no longer a functioning fortress of the Judean empire, Masada still exemplifies the criticality of innovation in water management to promote sustainable access to water.

The Dead Sea

In terms of water resources, although the Dead Sea itself may not be a source of potable or industrial water for the populace it nonetheless illustrates the consequences and potential of anthropogenic water resource modifications.

The Dead Sea itself is the lowest land-based elevation point on earth (~400m below sea level at the water surface). This hypersaline body of water has a salinity concentration around 10 times greater than the world’s oceans, which was evident for trekkers as they easily floated above the salt crystals of the seabed while the solution delivered a slimy sensation to the skin of those curious enough to enter.

The Dead Sea, while beautiful, is in fact shrinking. Naturally this sea would be fed by the Jordan River; however, the growing population demands more water than the river can supply from the Sea of Galilee. While there are cries to save the Dead Sea, this natural phenomenon hides a resilience to extinction in the 306m depths in the north while also supporting the Israeli and Jordanian economies via mineral extraction and tourism in the southern ends.

Photo taken by a trekker at the shores of the Dead Sea

A lifeguard station on the shore of the Dead Sea showing temperatures of 38ºC in the late morning

While the Dead Sea may not be in danger of completely disappearing due to water resource management, changes in the aquifer composition have created an issue of sinkholes in the region leading to the loss of agriculture and infrastructure. Whether this is a reasonable price to pay for prosperity elsewhere in Israel or a focus of the future, it is in the hands of the Israeli water authority.

A mountainside view of the industrial and touristic infrastructure of the Southern Dead Sea

The Global Engineering Trek (GET) to Israel is jointly organized by the Northwestern Center for Water Research (NCWR) and the Israel Innovation Project (IIP). This program is focused on the topic of water (GET Water-Israel) and is offered to all first- and second-year Northwestern undergraduate students. GET Water-Israel is co-sponsored by McCormick Global Initiatives, the Institute for Sustainability and Energy at Northwestern (ISEN), the Crown Family Center for Jewish and Israel Studies, NCWR, and IIP.

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GET Israel: Topic 7 – Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research

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By Aidan Ocampo and Hector Ontiveros Morales

On Monday, September 12, we left Be’er Sheva, the capital of the Negev region early in the morning as our bus headed south towards Sde Boker. This Kibbutz served as the retirement and final resting place of Israel’s first prime minister, Ben Gurion. We visited his tomb as the first stop of the day which overlooks the impressive Tzin valley. Afterward, we arrived at the Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research at Ben Gurion University with our guide, Edo Bar-Zeev. This is one of the campuses of the Ben Gurion University of the Negev, with the main one located in Be’er Sheva.

The first presentation of the day focused on Israel’s path to leading the world in innovative water technology. As the country faces increasing water scarcity and a rapidly growing population, the presentation underscored the urgency to develop solutions for the challenges facing Israel today. Beyond Israel, the discussion also explored the global water crisis which is worsening from the impacts of climate change and global inequality. In Israel, one of the first projects from the national water authority was to connect the Sea of Galilee to the arid Negev region. This was important as the UN discovered the Negev’s agricultural capability in 1947 which could flourish with the presence of freshwater. Israel has a deficit of water demand which is now met with the use of desalinated water. We learned that desalination produces over 650 million cubic meters of freshwater per year, and the country plans to meet 100% of its drinking water needs from desalinated water by 2030.

Another researcher, Shai, took us on a tour of the first-floor lab. We found the lab so impressive due to its size which allows the researchers to work with models that are larger than the ones found in class but smaller than those used in industry. His group is examining nitrates in the soil and microplastic pollutants in water. They have set up a system to manage and control the concentration of nitrogen in the soil through measures taken every hour.

Dr. Ode took us to a pilot lab that tests both reverse osmosis and electrodialysis systems. We had already learned about reverse osmosis but electrodialysis introduces electrical potential instead of pressure to separate ions in the water. The advantage of this technology is that it can be used to selectively modify ions to retain valuable minerals originally found in saltwater.

Finally, with Noam Weisbrod, we learned more about the desert region of Israel which encompasses 60% of the country but only 9% of its population. He gave us an overview of the individual institutes at the university dealing with water scarcity, food insecurity, dry land protection, and solar energy. We ended the visit by checking out one of the world’s first desalination systems which was developed in the 1960s by Professor Sydney Loeb and powered by gravity. All in all, we learned so much about the importance of water and proper management, along with the innovations produced in Israel.

 

 

 

 

The Global Engineering Trek (GET) to Israel is jointly organized by the Northwestern Center for Water Research (NCWR) and the Israel Innovation Project (IIP). This program is focused on the topic of water (GET Water-Israel) and is offered to all first- and second-year Northwestern undergraduate students. GET Water-Israel is co-sponsored by McCormick Global Initiatives, the Institute for Sustainability and Energy at Northwestern (ISEN), the Crown Family Center for Jewish and Israel Studies, NCWR, and IIP.

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GET Israel: Topic 6 – Netafim / Kibbutz Hatzerim

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Drip Water Irrigation in Israel 

By Shyam Chandra and Damien Koh

On September 11th, 2022, the Israel GET group paid a visit to an Israeli community known as Kibbutz Hatzerim. There we learned about a local-born company called Netafim and their unique drip irrigation technology.

A Kibbutz is a type of Israeli shared community with an extreme emphasis on resource sharing and equality. They were formed during the formation of Israel and are primarily focused on agriculture. While its members may possess different roles and jobs, everyone contributes all of their earnings to a shared bank account and then each receives a fixed, equal monthly budget for their own use. Each household is expected to return its leftover budget to the shared account at the end of the month to ensure the longer-term success of the community.

There was initially 100+ Kibbutz, however, there are now only 28 that remain true to their collective values – with the others becoming more individual-centric and privatized. This shift was due to the changing opinions on individualism, capitalism, and community values. However, children born into a Kibbutz are not obligated to stay when they reach adulthood. In fact, if they choose to leave and seek reentry, they must be voted into the community with a 65% majority and a trial period to determine the value they could bring to the people around them. Being able to witness such a unique community and its potential success in the modern world was an eye-opening experience.

Another purpose of our visit was to tour Netafim, a billion-dollar revenue-generating corporation that pioneered the drip irrigation system.

As our warmly enthusiastic guide put it, “drip irrigation will likely achieve a Nobel Prize soon.” Aligning with UN goals across water conservation, zero hunger, and climate action, these small drippers and encasing polyethylene tubing have drastically reduced the water required for agriculture. We learned how drip irrigation is the most efficient water distribution method at 95-100% efficiency, with the next best water distribution systems only offering 80-85% (sprinkler systems). The technology precisely drips water onto the roots of the plants it waters to minimize waste.

Our warmly enthusiastic guide, Lior Mark

Jojoba bean plantation

To get a better feel of the technology’s use case, we toured Jojoba Hatzerim, the world’s number one jojoba oil manufacturer. These beans eventually become Jojoba oil, which is extremely useful in helping cosmetics be better absorbed by the skin, as it mimics the skin’s natural sebum production. Furthering the Israeli agriculture industry’s focus on innovation, they also employ advanced machinery to harvest these Jojoba beans that only require a single operator. The driver is then able to easily employ robotic arms and vacuums to harvest up to 10 tons per day, easily outperforming similar harvesting methods, which require large amounts of manpower.

Netafim Irrigation line with dripper

Molly Whalen, student participant, with her Jojoba Oil sample

We enjoyed a presentation with one of Netafim’s business leaders who outlined the corporation’s history and strategy for farmer adoption of their technology. He explained that they hope to continue investing heavily in R&D for the foreseeable future. Israel is a nation that has overcome adversity with innovation, and it’s precisely this culture that has allowed Netafim to revolutionize the way the world meets its agricultural needs.

The Global Engineering Trek (GET) to Israel is jointly organized by the Northwestern Center for Water Research (NCWR) and the Israel Innovation Project (IIP). This program is focused on the topic of water (GET Water-Israel) and is offered to all first- and second-year Northwestern undergraduate students. GET Water-Israel is co-sponsored by McCormick Global Initiatives, the Institute for Sustainability and Energy at Northwestern (ISEN), the Crown Family Center for Jewish and Israel Studies, NCWR, and IIP.

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GET Israel: Topic 5 – Shafdan

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Israel’s largest Wastewater Treatment and Water Reuse Facility

By Molly Whalen and Kayd Bhagat

For Wildcats, purple is the color for Northwestern pride. Here in central Israel at the Shafdan Wastewater Treatment Plant, purple represents the color of pipes that contain recycled wastewater.

Today, the Trekkers ventured just outside of Tel Aviv to learn about how Israel’s Dan region recycles wastewater. Wastewater is sewage, water used for bathing, toilets, and all household functions. Here, a staggering 90% of all municipal wastewater is recycled and used in agriculture, making Israel the leader when it comes to water reclamation.

When we first arrived at the plant, we were greeted by the Lead Process Engineer, Erez Megidish, who gave us a rundown on the treatment process and showed us around the Shafdan facility. Megidish described the 5-step process wastewater takes to become high-quality water for agriculture.

First, wastewater from 2.5 million Israelis makes its way to the Shafdan facility every day where it undergoes pretreatment. Pretreatment is the process by which large solids, like sediment and sanitary wipes, are removed from the water before it is purified.

Second, the wastewater heads to the bioreactors, long flowing pools of wastewater with bacteria to help break down the organic material. After the bioreactors, the liquid water and solid sludge are split up and processed separately.

The liquid then heads to Soil Aquifer Treatment (SAT) where it is collected in a recharge basin. Over 6 months, water trickles through the sand below the recharge basin, providing an additional level of filtration. Once the liquid passes through the sand, it is high-quality water and flows into underground aquifers for storage. Recovery wells can then extract the water for use.

The solid sludge extracted from the bottom of the bioreactors is fed into an array of anaerobic digestion tanks. The sludge spends two weeks in these tanks at roughly 55 degrees Celsius, sterilizing the sludge and releasing methane gas. The methane gas is captured and used to fuel the tanks heating systems and supply 80% of the entire facility’s electricity. The sterilized sludge is then sent off to one last step.

Finally, the sterile sludge undergoes thickening and dewatering. Here the sludge is fed into a centrifuge, which removes a majority of the remaining water. The thickened sludge is sent off to be used as class A fertilizer on farms throughout the country.

We also explored the different variables that affect the operation of the plant. Usage fluctuates throughout the day with after breakfast, dinner time, and late evening being peak hours. Usage also fluctuates throughout the year with high utilization during major holidays or before religious fasts. Rain can also cause the bioreactor to flow too quickly and not allow enough time for proper treatment through the pools. During high rainfall, water is passed through the facility twice. Shafdan must have sufficient capacity to process the wastewater at all times.

To wrap up our trip to Shafdan, we visited their pilot research facilities where they are discovering how to scale up newer methods of water filtration. Many of the pilot research facilities were established in partnership with Northwestern’s CoWERC program with Israel.

There is an internationally recognized coloring system for pipes that is used around the world. The purple color of these pipes indicate that they carry purified wastewater.

 

Erez Megidish, the lead process engineer at Shafdan, shows the group a model of the secondary bioreactor set up and explains how this part of the purification process works.

 

Professor George Wells (right) describes to Aidan Ocampo (left) the flow patterns of sea water through reverse osmosis filtration cartridges, which remove salt and other impurities from the water.

 

The bioreactor pools are surrounded by bushes of flowers, bringing an unexpected pop of color (and perhaps counter-scent) to the area.

 

Another member of the Shadfan team talks to the group about the various pilot research facilities that are testing novel water treatment technologies at the facility.

 

Kayd Bhagat and Molly Whalen (left to right) take a selfie in front of the Shafdan Water Treatment Visitor Center.

 

Wastewater flows through bioreactor pools where bacteria break down organic materials and harmful toxins in the water. The water becomes progressively cleaner the further it flows through the pools.

The Global Engineering Trek (GET) to Israel is jointly organized by the Northwestern Center for Water Research (NCWR) and the Israel Innovation Project (IIP). This program is focused on the topic of water (GET Water-Israel) and is offered to all first- and second-year Northwestern undergraduate students. GET Water-Israel is co-sponsored by McCormick Global Initiatives, the Institute for Sustainability and Energy at Northwestern (ISEN), the Crown Family Center for Jewish and Israel Studies, NCWR, and IIP.

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GET Israel: Topic 4 – Caesarea

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Aqueduct and ancient water supply and water management

By Emilia McDougal, Alex Perry, Nikhil Sriram

Today our group headed an hour north of Tel Aviv to visit Caesarea, a historic seaport and current national park bordering the Mediterranean Sea. Originally founded by Herod the Great around 20 BCE, the site has seen generations of inhabitants, from Muslims displaced by the Ottoman Empire to various groups of Crusaders who came from Europe with the goal of conquering holy sites.

Two impressive engineering feats that mark the remnants of the town and its history are an aqueduct more than two centuries old and an artificial seaport estimated to be from around the same time. Professors George Wells and Elie Rekhess gave us a tour of both.

The aqueduct pictured above, whose water originated from a stream over five kilometers from the actual town, was created from a cement mixture that contained volcanic ash, an ingredient to which material scientists attribute the longevity of the structures. Running from the north to the south, the structure is estimated to have carried amounts of water comparable to modern-day cities to its citizens. Though currently uncovered, when in use, engineers would use stone slabs to cover the tops of the water so as not to leave it exposed to the elements and allow for its contamination. We learned there are two methods to induce water flow: gravity and differences in pressure. An aqueduct has a subtle slope to it, using gravity to transfer the water over great distances. Ancient engineers had the difficult job of determining which degree of the slope was small enough so that the aqueduct wouldn’t reach the ground before traveling to the necessary destination, while also being steep enough to overcome friction. Another impressive aspect of the aqueducts was the use of arches as supports. The purpose of an arch shape is that instead of using vertical supports, where gravity pulls the load directly downwards with no load bearing in between supports, the load is distributed in a more diagonal direction with arches. The aqueduct is now a popular beach spot where tourists and locals alike relax under the arches once used to supply fresh water. Our group is pictured below, finding a moment of respite from the intense desert sun beneath the shade of the aqueduct.

The second engineering feat, an artificial sea harbor, is located within the heart of Caesarea and was built around 22 to 15 BC. It was the largest artificial harbor of that time and is featured in the two pictures below. The historical importance of this site stems from its strategic positioning as a midpoint of the contested land in modern-day Israel, as whoever controlled this land denied others the opportunity to unite the areas above and below. Additionally, having the town as a seaport allowed for a local community to thrive in an economy driven by merchants, commerce, and fishermen. The “glue” used for constructing this harbor and keeping stones together was formed of volcanic ash mixed with limestone and water. The volcanic ash was brought in from Italy, making the construction of this artificial harbor all the more impressive.

 

We concluded the planned activities with a group meal. One of the popular dishes is pictured below. Lentils are a very common source of protein in the region, and on top of the dish, it is customary to add some greek yogurt and sliced cucumbers, showing the Mediterranean influence in dishes. After the meal, we headed back to our hostel and were given free time to explore and rest before our next day of activities.

 

The Global Engineering Trek (GET) to Israel is jointly organized by the Northwestern Center for Water Research (NCWR) and the Israel Innovation Project (IIP). This program is focused on the topic of water (GET Water-Israel) and is offered to all first- and second-year Northwestern undergraduate students. GET Water-Israel is co-sponsored by McCormick Global Initiatives, the Institute for Sustainability and Energy at Northwestern (ISEN), the Crown Family Center for Jewish and Israel Studies, NCWR, and IIP.

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GET Israel: Topic 3 – Jerusalem

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King Hezekiah water tunnel, Gihon spring, overall ancient city water supply 

By Destiny Lara, Charis Lee, Peter Pinder 

Our trip’s third day in Israel involved a tour of Jerusalem’s City of David where we immersed ourselves in the ancient beauty of the city while learning how two major factors (water and religion) impacted the human geography of this multi-layered and complex city during different phases in history. We began the day observing the ingenious and audacious initiatives of ancient architects and engineers to satisfy the necessity for water in the ancient city. Throughout the day, we walked through the neighborhoods and observed how sites of religious significance integrated themselves into the geography of this interesting and complex community in the past and present. 

The spring tower is a large stone tower built 3,800 years ago in the ancient city of Jerusalem. It was designed to protect the Gihon Spring which flowed at the base of the tower through a channel to a pool nearby. At times of war, residents retrieved water by descending a path protected by two huge walls. This vital source of water has been the lifeblood of the City of David, and the center of engineering marvels within the city. 

The image shows a photo taken at an archaeological site in the City of David believed to be a cistern at some point in history

The image above is a projected portrayal of the City of David above original stones from the spring tower courtesy of City of David National Park

One of the more impressive engineering marvels the group discovered was the King Hezekiah Tunnel. This water tunnel was carved in the City of David around the seventh century B.C. The tunnel is 533 meters long and was used to bring water from the upper spring of Gihon to a reservoir within the city limits. The tunnels were built because the city was expecting an attack by the Assyrians and wanted safe access to their water source. The time to complete the tunnel is unknown but there were two groups of carvers; one that started within the city walls and one that started at the spring. The two carved the tunnel in an S shape and met in the middle.

An image captured by a group member following another in the narrow passage of King Hezekiah’s (water) Tunnel.

Another aspect of the discussion of water in Jerusalem that struck us was the religious significance it holds and has held for several centuries. Our tour guide showed us a portion of a mikveh, which is a bath used in Judaism to ritually cleanse oneself. The Hezekiah Tunnel supplied water for that specific mikveh, reflecting its importance in ancient culture. Moreover, the tour guide mentioned how Jewish practitioners must wash their hands in a specific manner before and after meals, further displaying water’s importance. In Islam, practitioners have to cleanse prior to entering a mosque, while in Christianity, baptism is an essential part of publicly proclaiming one’s faith. Moreover, being able to view famous religious sites such as the Western Wall and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was quite a unique and fascinating experience.

The Temple Mount and a full-length view of the Western Wall are featured in this image.

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre receives water from the Gihon Spring, which is essential for holy ceremonies, further emphasizing water’s centrality in religion. On a separate note, the presence of various sects of Christianity in the Church (6-7 represented) was interesting to see, as it seems to unite the faith in a way.

Reflecting on the day as a whole, the religious significance of the various holy sites was visible in the sheer number and distant origins of the pilgrims coming to observe them. In terms of water, it’s fascinating how the carvers knew where to meet. We are curious to know how the point to meet was determined and how they traced that direction whereas, even with modern technology, such precision is a result of luck.

 

 

The Global Engineering Trek (GET) to Israel is jointly organized by the Northwestern Center for Water Research (NCWR) and the Israel Innovation Project (IIP). This program is focused on the topic of water (GET Water-Israel) and is offered to all first- and second-year Northwestern undergraduate students. GET Water-Israel is co-sponsored by McCormick Global Initiatives, the Institute for Sustainability and Energy at Northwestern (ISEN), the Crown Family Center for Jewish and Israel Studies, NCWR, and IIP.

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GET Israel: Topic 2 – Baha’i Temple and Gardens

Posted by ncw872

By Vianey Guadian, Natalia Rodriguez, Hector Morales 

After having lunch at a traditional Hummus restaurant in the center of Haifa, our bus ascended to the top of the Baha’i Gardens, situated on Mt. Carmel. Mt. Carmel maintains historical importance as a holy site and the name translates to ‘God’s’ vineyard. We observed the entire Haifa Bay from the top of this vantage point and even the mountains of Lebanon which are located about 1.5 hours north of Haifa.

The gardens have nine lower and nine upper terraces, with the temple located in the middle on its own terrace. The engineer in charge of the irrigation of the Baha’i gardens stated that the water supply is provided in part by the city of Haifa. More specifically, the gardens use water from a well, and the liquid is pumped from the lowest areas to the upper areas. Then, it is distributed across the different terraces.  

The irrigation system consists of sprinklers and sprayers for the lawns, and drippers for the flowers. This equipment is provided by Netafim, an Israeli company specializing in irrigation technology. Additionally, there are three main pumps, as well as a monitoring system paired with weather stations. This software, which is also available as a phone app, allows the garden’s engineers to measure water flow to send water to the areas that need it the most and is part of the infrastructure’s main conservation efforts. Furthermore, engineers use a species-specific formula to determine the amount of water the plant loses each day to provide only the required quantity of water. So, in times of rainfall, no irrigation may be needed to maintain the gardens. The gardens well additionally captures some rainwater during rainy seasons but the engineer mentioned they are currently working on developing uses of greywater and other water conservation practices. Currently, 60 to 100 m3 of water is used every day to maintain the gardens. The Baha’i gardens keep water use below their minimum and depend less on use of city water.  

After visiting the gardens, we learned about the values and history of the Baha’i religion. It is a relatively recent monotheistic religion founded in the 1800s and has over 8 million members in more than 200 countries. They emphasize the importance of unity, equality, and community service among other values. The Baha’i religion places great importance on individual prayer and reflection. Additionally, Haifa is home to the Baha’i world education center where nine council members maintain order and house various Baha’i religious texts and records. The Baha’i world center receives hundreds of visitors every year from all parts of the world which is reflective of the religion’s widespread message. Although the Baha’i temple and world center are not worship houses themselves, they are still considered very holy locations in the Baha’i religion. One important detail that may be surprising since the Baha’i temple is in Israel, is that there is not a Baha’i community in Israel, and in fact, one cannot become part of the Baha’i religion in Israel.  

Despite the heat and extremely sunny weather, our visit to the Baha’i temple and gardens provided lots of insights into a very welcoming religion and the use of water engineering in one of Israel’s holy sites.  

 

View of the Bahá’í Gardens and Haifa Bay from Mt. Carmel.

 

The International Archives at the Bahá’í World Center

 

View of the Eastern Haifa Bay from the gardens. In the distance lies the ancient city of Acre.

 

Exhibition on the start of the Bahá’í faith inside the visitor’s center.

 

Explanation for the location of the Bahá’í Temple and Gardens on Mt. Carmel.

 

The Global Engineering Trek (GET) to Israel is jointly organized by the Northwestern Center for Water Research (NCWR) and the Israel Innovation Project (IIP). This program is focused on the topic of water (GET Water-Israel) and is offered to all first- and second-year Northwestern undergraduate students. GET Water-Israel is co-sponsored by McCormick Global Initiatives, the Institute for Sustainability and Energy at Northwestern (ISEN), the Crown Family Center for Jewish and Israel Studies, NCWR, and IIP.

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GET Israel: Topic 1 – Technion (Israel Institute of Technology)

Posted by ncw872

Water Research Lab Tour

By Aidan Ocampo, Iphigenie Bera, Sara Bhaidani 

For most, the first destination on Northwestern’s Global Engineering Trek (GET) to Israel left students with a lasting impression of the significant role water plays on a regional and global scale. As Wildcats visited Technion, they were provided a valuable introduction to groundbreaking research into solving the most-pressing Israeli water challenges. 

Among the group of world-class researchers at Technion’s Grand Water Research Institute (GWRI), students heard from Dr. Alex Furman about the history of water resources in Israel and its approach to solving their urgent water issues. Despite its young age as a country, the almost 75 years of Israeli history is underscored by the nation’s need to develop and sustain powerful new methods of providing water to its densely populated, rapidly growing population. 

In response to declining access to natural water resources, Dr. Furman highlighted three innovative approaches to treating water and harnessing natural sources in the region. Prior to the 1980’s, the first Israeli attempt to control water in the region began with the construction of the Galilee Sea in 1930. Decades later, the draining of the Hula Valley provided farmers with a revolutionary form of agriculture.  

Leading the world in developing new water technology, Israel implemented one of the first wastewater reuse programs beginning in the 1980’s. While primarily used to supply water to the agricultural industry, this process brought the water to acceptable standards by removing contaminants and particulates such as nitrogen and boron, an element commonly found in laundry detergent.  

As the treatment of wastewater continued to support Israel’s agricultural sector, researchers continued developing revolutionary methods of treating wastewater. At the turn of the century, the implementation of desalination technology provided an entirely new opportunity for supplying drinking water to Israel’s growing population. Contrary to the commonly used desalination technique of thermal desalination which consumed a lot of energy, Israel uses mainly reverse osmosis. Reverse osmosis requires a semi-permeable membrane to filter out salt and other particles. There is ongoing research that seeks to optimize membrane reverse osmosis and how to mix desalinated water with other water sources in Israel. 

Following the presentation, students toured the various labs performing this research at Technion’s Agricultural Engineering Center. Students learned about water technologies that make water treatment low-cost and environmentally friendly. One of the labs focused on the study of water transportation through membranes used in reverse osmosis with the goal of making membranes durable and versatile. High evaporation rates of Israel’s semi-arid climate make underground sources a good storage of water. This introduced the ongoing research for soil aquifer treatment which focuses on nourishing water-purifying bacteria by injecting oxygen into the soil. The lab tour ended with non-invasive water quality monitoring using spectral sensing technology of soil.  

Israel’s technology and innovation provide a rich study for water resource management, offering a breadth of knowledge on wastewater reuse, water distribution, water reclamation, and water storage. As students continue their trek through Israel, they look forward to exploring more of the country’s global leadership in water technology.

Northwestern students (from left to right) Sara, Aidan, and Iphigenie, at Technion’s Meyer Davis Agricultural Engineering Center where they toured research facilities exploring water technology solutions.

 

Technion lab tool used to explore the transportation of
contaminants through soil by measuring electric charges delivered through electrodes in the soil.

 

Northwestern students hear from lab manager at Technion lab researching membranes used in reverse osmosis at desalination plants.

 

Dr. Alex Furman address Israel’s history of water innovation in presentation to Northwestern students.

 

Technion research facilities studying the efficacy of different membranes used in reverse osmosis for desalination of water.

The Global Engineering Trek (GET) to Israel is jointly organized by the Northwestern Center for Water Research (NCWR) and the Israel Innovation Project (IIP). This program is focused on the topic of water (GET Water-Israel) and is offered to all first- and second-year Northwestern undergraduate students. GET Water-Israel is co-sponsored by McCormick Global Initiatives, the Institute for Sustainability and Energy at Northwestern (ISEN), the Crown Family Center for Jewish and Israel Studies, NCWR, and IIP.

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