Mekorot, Israel’s national water company, has signed a first-of-its-kind agreement to develop a master plan for the Dominican Republic’s water sector, the organization said on Tuesday.Finalized on Monday in the Dominican Republic, the agreement includes Mekorot providing planning, support and consultation for the Dominican Republic’s water company (INAPA). The deal was signed by Mekorot Chairman Yitzhak Aharonovitch and INAPA Executive Director Wellington Arnaud.The Dominican Republic has suffered a severe water shortage exacerbated by global warming this year. A report by the Borgen Project described a country where in 2020, “only 15% of inventoried water systems practiced chlorination,” and lack of proper water treatment has led to waterborne diseases. Moreover, a series of natural disasters have damaged critical infrastructure.“Officials from the local water sector explained that the local economy relies mainly on agriculture and mining, which are all significant consumers of water, but the water shortage in the nation makes it difficult to continue developing tourism areas or support the needs of agriculture and the growing demand for mine products,” Mekorot told The Jerusalem Post.
How will the Israeli plan help the needs of the Dominican Republic?
The Israeli plan will include not only solutions to help solve current needs but also the infrastructure required to support the water system over the next 30 years.An article published on the Dominican Today website, a local media outlet, said the republic’s president, Luis Abinader, “highlighted Israel’s expertise in water management,” thanked Mekorot and “expressed the government’s intention to learn from best practices around the world and apply them to the national reality.”The website said the president also urged citizens to recognize the country’s water crisis and act accordingly.The president rolled out the country’s “National Commitment for the Water Pact (2021-2036)” two years ago to help ensure water availability and better management. Since then, Abinader has allocated a significant budget towards these efforts.Mekorot’s agreement with the Dominican Republic is the second international deal it has signed this month. The first was with Xylem, a global water technology provider based in Washington, D.C., and involves an “innovative business model that includes licensing a suite of Xylem’s leading assessment services technologies for pipeline inspection. Xylem will train Mekorot to deploy the technology, to evaluate the condition and maintain the resilience of critical infrastructure in Israel,” Mekorot told the Post.Not only will this agreement prove critical to Israel’s national security, but with the life of transmission pipelines extended, Mekorot is expected to save billions of shekels on pipe renewal.
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