Utah intends to sign agreements with Israel over water-saving technologies

Deer Valley, Utah – Building on ties forged during a trip to Israel, state leaders anticipate quickly coming to a decision for more cooperation on water-saving technologies.

The heads of Utah’s Department of Agriculture & Food and Department of Natural Resources have stated that they had another meeting with representatives of the Israeli government last week to talk about possible memorandums for understanding about water-saving technologies.

Joel Ferry, executive director of the Utah Department of Natural Resources, stated on Monday that “the ultimate goal is to have an agreement with the Israeli government where they will help continue to share information with us and we will do the same as we continue to promote investment in those technologies.”

In order to learn more about improved techniques for growing crops with less water, the Great Salt Lake Collaborative accompanied a state delegation to Israel last year. The trip spoke with scientists, farmers, and researchers. To find out how the nation handles water and produces food, they went to farms, IT hubs, research centers for agriculture, desalination plants, and drip irrigation system manufacturers.

Utah Agriculture Commissioner Craig Buttars said they also educated Israeli authorities on “how we’ve applied some of these things in the state, such as drip irrigation,” during a conference of agriculture leaders held in Deer Valley on Monday.

Utah’s main water user is agriculture, thus the state has provided incentives totaling over $250 million to encourage farmers and ranchers to convert to innovative irrigation technologies that use a lot less water. Although drip irrigation is more expensive, the state is providing some very alluring incentives to farmers who are prepared to switch from pivot sprinkler systems to drip irrigation. Where will a farmer get a 50/50 split from the state to switch to a more effective sprinkler system? If they decide to drip, the state will offer a 70/30 split.

“We’ve seen in our water optimization program, we’ve had several projects come in that are for drip irrigation. We’re in the process right now of putting those projects on the ground — or in the ground,” Buttars said. “So it’s been very beneficial for us to implement that technology.”

Though Buttars stated he thinks there have been water savings, the programs are still being implemented and statistics on the amount of water saved is still being gathered. Additionally, he plans to return to Capitol Hill in Utah and get additional funding from the legislators to continue growing it.

“We’re expecting that we’ll look for an ongoing appropriation after the initial funding that we’ve gotten is spent and put on the ground,” Buttars said.

Utah is seeking to learn from other foreign governments than just Israel. They are also in discussions about greenhouse gardening with Mexico and geothermal energy harvesting with Iceland. According to Ferry, the objective is to help Utah manage its water supply by utilizing the greatest expertise and technology.

“If we grow the way we’re projected to grow, and we want to continue to have farms and agriculture and industry and people using water the way that we want to use it — and also have enough water for our environment, in particular Great Salt Lake — we’ve got to change some practices,” he said. “And so this change is what we’re looking at. Where is the most advanced form of conservation. Certainly Israel has led out in those fields.”