To restore the irrigation system in southern Ukraine after the destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant, Israel proposes to focus on the development of wastewater treatment and seawater desalination

To restore the irrigation system in southern Ukraine after the destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant, Israel proposes to focus on the development of wastewater treatment and seawater desalination. This was announced by Denis Gamzin, a designer at the Israel Water Authority, during the conference “Israeli Water Supply and Agricultural Technologies – Experience for Ukraine,” which was held at the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

“Israel has turned an environmental threat into a valuable resource. The country, located in the desert, reuses about 450 million cubic meters of treated wastewater, which is half of the water needs of agriculture, with 90% of treated wastewater going to irrigation. In total, treated wastewater covers 25% of Israel’s total water needs, with another 25% coming from desalinated water and 50% from fresh water,” said Denis Gamzin. According to him, in the next 25 years, the share of treated wastewater in Israel’s agricultural consumption will increase to almost 70%. “Israel is strengthening its control over the quality of wastewater treatment and expanding the practice of secondary and tertiary use of treated wastewater,” added Denis Gamzin.

Israel is also actively developing seawater desalination plants. “There are currently three large seawater desalination plants operating in Israel with a capacity of 400 million m3. Over the next 10 years, four more plants will be launched, and the processing capacity will increase to 1,200 million m3,” said the designer of the Israel Water Authority.

According to Denis Gamzin, Ukraine has great potential for using treated wastewater and seawater for agricultural needs. The large territory allows for the selection of rational locations for treatment and desalination plants, unlike in Israel, where, due to a shortage of land, plants are located not near water sources, but where there is free land – sometimes in the center of the country.

Yonatan Tsadka, Director of the Department of Economic Affairs for Asia and Eurasia at the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, noted that modern water purification technologies have emerged thanks to Israel’s policy of promoting innovation. According to him, Israel is focused on innovative areas, especially given the circumstances in which Israel finds itself. “There are national plans that allow the entire population to focus on creating breakthrough technologies that will be very important in the future. One of the driving factors is climate change. Israel has a certain advantage in this area, and new challenges strengthen our resilience. We are now facing issues of foreign worker migration and changes in supply chains,” said Yonatan Tsadka.

Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Vitaliy Golovnya noted that the issue of efficient use of water resources and the search for new sources of water for irrigation is important for Ukraine. “This is a topical issue in connection with climate change and the loss of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant in terms of irrigation and watering. The implementation of projects following the Israeli example will help solve the issue of food security,“ said Vitaliy Golovnya.

President of the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Gennady Chizhikov noted that Israel is showing one of the best results during the war. ”The experience of this country will be very useful for Ukraine,” he said.

Israeli Ambassador to Ukraine Michael Brodsky announced that the Watec Israel conference will be held in Jerusalem on September 16-19, 2024. “This is a unique opportunity to see various technologies that have been working in different countries for many years and may be useful to Ukraine,” said Michael Brodsky.

According to the State Agency of Ukraine for the Development of Land Reclamation, Fisheries, and Food Programs of Ukraine, the destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant has left 94% of irrigation systems in the Kherson region, 74% in the Zaporizhzhia region, and 30% in the Dnipropetrovsk region without a source of irrigation for a long time. In total, more than 350 irrigation pumping stations and about 1,100 km of irrigation canals cannot be used. (source – https://agronews.ua/news/stalo-vidomo-skilky-znadobytsya-chasu-na-vidnovlennya-systemy-zroshennya/)

According to the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine, in 2021, the volume of wastewater discharged amounted to 4.686 billion m3, of which 58% was normatively clean, 30% was normatively purified, and 12% was polluted. (source – https://eu4waterdata.eu/images/pdf/library/Ukraine_5th_reporting_cycle_UKR_2022_final.pdf)

Open4Business and Experts Club are media partners of the Ukrainian League of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs and the conference “Israeli technologies for water supply and the agricultural sector – experience for Ukraine.”

Last modified: August 28, 2025