Tel Aviv's desalination experience to beat Baku's water crisis Review by Caliber.Az

Azerbaijan has always been in need of water resources due to its natural and geographical location. Moreover, environmental experts estimate that due to the imminent threat of desertification, by 2050 the country's freshwater reserves may shrink by another 15-20 per cent. Today, the government is studying several alternative projects to supply water to the capital and other cities, including the creation of a desalination plant on the Caspian Sea. In April this year, the head of state signed a decree on measures to implement a pilot project to produce drinking water by desalinating sea water. Recently, water operators of Azerbaijan and Israel - Azersu OJSC and Mekorot Water Company signed a contract to provide technical advice on the seawater desalination project.

The shortage of fresh water in Azerbaijan, which has been facing the problem of desertification for decades, is most dramatic in large cities, especially in Baku, the capital of three million people. Currently, a number of measures are being implemented in the republic within the framework of the order of the President of Azerbaijan from July 27, 2020, on additional measures to ensure the rational use of water resources. The document is aimed at optimising water resources management, reducing technical losses during transportation and storage of drinking water in reservoirs, and preventing inappropriate use of water resources. In this regard, the construction of new reservoirs, concrete irrigation canals, and wide use of water resources in the Karabakh region are envisaged. The relevant departments are also studying the possibility of creating a system of cyclic processing of wastewater and accumulation of rainwater in special reservoirs. However, a project providing for the creation of a seawater desalination complex in the Caspian Sea is considered one of the most optimum choices.

In the last quarter of the twentieth century, the world's leading countries have moved from the development of pilot schemes and experimental systems to the active implementation of various industrial seawater desalination technologies. Industrial desalination plants are based on the principles of seawater distillation, reverse osmosis technology, electrodialysis, freezing and ion exchange. But most often distillation units and reverse osmosis water purification filters are used. It should be noted that seawater desalination, especially on an industrial scale, is a very expensive process due to its high energy consumption. Therefore, the industry often uses nuclear reactor power, and in recent years, renewable energy sources (RES), such as powerful offshore wind turbines and solar panels, have been increasingly utilised. According to UN experts, due to the negative climate changes and the greenhouse effect, in the near future, this trend will become crucial in solving the planet's water problem. Today there are over 800 large desalination plants operating in the world, mainly in the desert areas of the Persian Gulf countries, Israel, northern Australia and a number of other countries.

In Azerbaijan, alternative options for overcoming the water crisis through the construction of desalination plants on the Caspian Sea coast have been studied for many years. At one time, the Ministry of Ecology of Azerbaijan voiced projects to create desalination plants on saline lakes of the Absheron Peninsula, where it is possible to install floating solar panels that will generate the required energy. A few years ago, with the initiative of the Ministry of Ecology and with the participation of Israeli companies, the first pilot project in this area was implemented: a desalination plant was built 80 kilometres south of Baku, near the village of Khidirli - at the junction of Garadagh and Salyan districts. Together with the seawater desalination complex with a capacity of 1,000 cubic metres, a modern nursery using desalinated water for irrigation of seedlings operates here. Desalination plants of smaller capacity have been set up by the State Oil Company (SOCAR) on the Chilov and Gum Adasi islands, and a similar facility for the production of technical fresh water is operating at the Shimal-2 thermal power plant.

The above-mentioned experimental endeavours became a prelude to the creation of a really powerful desalination complex of industrial scale. The first step in this direction was taken in October last year, when a memorandum was signed between Azerbaijan Investment Company OJSC (AIC) and Israel's I.D.E. Water Assets Ltd. (IDE), providing technical support in the implementation of the project for the construction of a water desalination complex in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea. It is worth noting the forty-year experience of IDE, whose equipment and technologies help meet a significant part of the water needs of the population of Israel. At the same time, this company carries out technology transfer and has built and operates over 400 plants in 40 countries, including China, India, the USA, Australia, etc.

By this spring, the technical and financial aspects were studied in general at the expert level, and on April 12 this year, the tasks of creating the country's first industrial-scale desalination plant were formulated in the relevant order of President Ilham Aliyev. As follows from the preamble of the document, the head of state ordered to implementation a pilot project on the production of drinking water using seawater desalination technologies in order to increase the water security of the country, attract new technologies in this sphere, improve water supply to Baku and adjacent territories. Among other things, according to the document, the Cabinet of Ministers, the Ministry of Economy and a number of other departments were instructed to take necessary measures to sign a water purchase deal and other agreements, as well as to ensure inclusion in the State Investment Programme of funds required for infrastructure works to transport desalinated drinking water to Baku and adjacent territories.

Apparently, the first stage of implementation of the order of the head of state started recently: the State Water Resources Agency (JSC Azersu) of Azerbaijan and Mekorot Water Company, the National Water Operator of Israel, signed a contract for technical advice within the framework of the seawater desalination project. During the meeting with representatives of Mekorot Water Company, chairman of the State Agency Zaur Mikailov informed the partners about the intention to improve water supply to Baku city and adjacent territories, in connection with which a pilot project on production of drinking water through desalination of seawater is planned to be implemented in the country. It was emphasised that special importance is attached to cooperation with Israeli companies in this regard.

It should be noted here that Israel leads the world in the development of desalination and water purification technologies and is home to the world's largest marine desalination plant, producing 108 million cubic metres of fresh water per year. Thanks to desalination, Israel now has a full water supply for cities, as well as over 80 per cent of its agricultural land. This Middle Eastern nation uses recycled water in huge quantities, almost the highest in the world.

The achievements of this country were once again confirmed during the signing ceremony: Amir Lang, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Israeli Mekorot Water Company, said that the company meets 90 per cent of the demand for drinking water in Israel, with about 60 per cent of the water supplied to consumers obtained by desalination of seawater. The meeting ended with a detailed exchange of views on further cooperation in the water supply sector.