As I mentioned previously, the goal of this project will be to conduct a course at Morgan State University about the technology behind water "manufacture" in Israel and, more generally, about the issues surrounding water management in the Middle East. To do this, I will spend three months in Tel Aviv, where I will engage engineers and other built environment professionals, as well as scholars, to document the ways in which different Israeli sectors -- government, research, industry, and financial -- have contributed to the system as it exists today. A recent report issued by the World Bank implies that financial models are as important as engineering innovation in developing equitable and sustainable water production and consumption; likewise, even a short visit to a desalination plant demonstrates that water management is fundamentally energy management. I hope that my stay in Israel will allow me to see behind the curtain of hype and self-promotion which characterizes reporting on water supplies around the world.
Before I get to Israel, I will spend a week in San Diego, where I will visit the desalination plant in Carlsbad, California. The design and operation of this facility, the largest desalination plant in the USA, was contracted to Israel's lead water-manufacture company, IDE Technologies. The construction of the plant was resisted by local environmental groups, concerned about the impact on the Pacific Ocean's shoreline ecosystems due to intake to and outfall from the plant. Review of heightened environmental awareness -- understanding its role in the official planning process in California -- will afford a useful case study for these issues when considering water manufacture in Israel and elsewhere in the Middle East.
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