Yesterday, a 
Center for Transboundary Water Management team visited a site in the Palestinian village of Auja to design the installation of a solar energy system for groundwater pumping. This plan is part of the larger Build Israel Palestine project, funded by the Genesis Prize Foundation, which intends to create sustainable farming in the West Bank by implementing off-grid sewage treatment systems that recycle water for irrigation. According to preliminary analysis with the local population, the high cost of energy for pumping water is one of the main difficulties date farmers in the region encounter. The pump, which will be installed by the end of February, will reduce farmers’ electricity expenses by twenty percent.
Submitted by Suleiman Halasah