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Grey=20 water pilot project poised to begin

By EHUD=20 ZION WALDOKS
01/07/2010

Multi-disciplinary=20 initiative garners prize at Cleantech 2010 = Exhibition.=20 =

A joint NGO, governmental, private = sector and=20 academic initiative to test grey water recycling systems is = awaiting its=20 last permits before implementation, Shomera for a Better = Environment=20 Executive Director Miriam Garmaise told The Jerusalem Post Wednesday. = The=20 initiative, which was first reported on in The Jerusalem Post last May, = was awarded=20 the Project of Excellence award by the Cleantech 2010 exhibition = which was=20 held in Tel Aviv on Tuesday and Wednesday.

After over two = years of=20 planning and preparation, the Greywater Recycling Initiative is = applying=20 for its final permits to install two systems to recycle the shower = water=20 at a mikva [ritual bath]. Garmaise declined to specify which = municipality=20 would be hosting the project before all the permits have been = approved,=20 but did say the municipality has been quite supportive.

The = initiative would recycle water from the showers at the mikva, not = the=20 mikva water itself, Garmaise stressed. Grey water is the = collective term=20 used for water which has been used once but does not contain human = excretions; such as water from the washing machine, shower or = sink. The=20 pilot project would only recycle water from showers = though.

While=20 the Health Ministry has generally refused to authorize grey water=20 recycling systems in urban areas, this pilot project could serve = as a=20 catalyst to change that reality, according to Garmaise. The = ministry has=20 been working in conjunction with Shomera and its partners on this = project=20 from the very beginning.

The Cleantech 2010 prize was = awarded for=20 the rarity of that very convergence of sectors =E2=80=93 bringing = together major=20 players from the public and private sectors and academia. Shomera = has=20 brought together all of the different elements partnering with = Technion =E2=80=93=20 Israel Institute of Technology Dr. Eran Friedler, one of the = country=E2=80=99s=20 foremost experts on grey water recycling, the Water = Authority=E2=80=99s Division=20 of Water Conservation, and the Water-Arc company which is the = operational=20 arm of the project.

=E2=80=9CEven though the project has = not actually been=20 deployed in the field yet, I think the prize reflects the = judges=E2=80=99 interest=20 in showcasing an initiative which pulled so many different sectors = together,=E2=80=9D Garmaise told the Post.

Assuming the = pilot project=20 yields favorable results, the next phase would be an open = demonstration=20 and a broad-based educational campaign, she said. Grey water = recycling=20 would be an effective conservation measure for the long term, = Garmaise=20 pointed out, rather than an immediate solution to the = country=E2=80=99s current=20 water scarcity.

While a respectable amount of the money for = the=20 pilot has been raised through The Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund = of San=20 Francisco, The Ford Conservation and Environmental Grants Program = for 2009=20 and an additional foundation which preferred to remain anonymous, = Garmaise=20 said they were still in need of additional financial=20 partners.

Shomera was a recipient of a Green Globe Award in = 2008=20 and has been active in implementing =E2=80=9Cprograms with an = entrepreneurial=20 spirit and setting trends,=E2=80=9D according to Garmaise, for the = past 12=20 years.

Meanwhile, a grey water recycling bill sponsored by = MK=20 Nitzan Horowitz (Meretz) and several other MKs is expected to come = before=20 the Ministerial Committee on Legislation for a vote on Sunday and = then=20 proceed to the Knesset Internal Affairs and Environment Committee = for a=20 preliminary reading and discussion. The bill was also sponsored by = a cross=20 party group of MKs: Finance Committee chairman Moshe Gafni (United = Torah=20 Judaism), Economic Affairs Committee chairman Ofir Akunis (Likud), = Internal Affairs and Environment Committee chairman David Azulai = (Shas)=20 and Health and Environment Committee chairman Dov Henin = (Hadash).

In=20 addition to Shomera, several other companies and organizations = were=20 honored by the Cleantech 2010 exhibition. Arrow Ecology won for=20 breakthrough company for its anaerobic garbage recycling = technology and=20 Termokir won for its environmental policies as an industrial = factory.=20 A.R.I. was awarded the prize for best product for its water = measuring=20 system, which accurately measures the water in the pipe to help = determine=20 how much is being lost to leaks and prevents air in the pipes from = being=20 considered water and a customer being overcharged.

The = Samuel=20 Neaman Institute for Advanced Studies in Science and Technology = and the=20 Environmental Education Center at Hiriya both garnered awards this = year=20 for their educational endeavors.

The exhibition also = awarded prizes=20 to the most environmentally friendly regional councils or = municipalities.=20 Regional Councils Bnei Shimon and Misgav, Local Council Omer and = the=20 cities of Kfar Saba and Ra=E2=80=99anana took home the awards this = year.=20

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