Keren Neubach is angry. Not only did the government pass a drought “tax,” on water usage over a certain quantity, the water authority raised the price of water by 50% beginning in January. Yesterday Neubach invited three people to speak on her morning program on Reshet Bet about water policy.
Neubach and MK Ronit Tirosh of Kadima claimed the tax was pushed through illegally, bundled with the bill on the state budget. The money doesn’t go toward infrastructure or anything connected to the water crisis, like desalination plants. It was blackmail.
MK Yaakov Litzman of Agudath Yisrael complained about the effect of high water rates on poorer families. Even MKs whose grandchildren visited them over the Sukkot holiday were shocked by their bills. Neubach pointed out that families in lower-income areas are more likely to have poor infrastructure that causes leaks, and of course they suffer most if water rates go up.
So MK Tirosh advocated civil disobedience, advising citizens not to cooperate with the water authority’s request for the number of people in each household. She and Neubach also suggested canceling your standing bank order, delaying payment, deducting extra fees, and “flooding” the water authority with pointless questions. The idea is that the water authority would never dare cut off anyone’s water supply.
Well, fifty percent is a lot (although that may be closed to the “real” price of water). I have no doubt that the tax is flawed and perhaps illegal. I’m not sure about civil disobedience, though. Take it to court or get the law repealed. My son suggested we follow Tirosh’s logic and stop paying our electric bill, to protest the exaggerated salaries and pensions of the government monopoly’s workers.
Most annoying of all was the exchange between Litzman and a man whose name I didn’t catch. He had written an email (to Neubach?) about the effect of the tax on his household. He said that he decided to build a private house, “in a place no one wanted to live” (i.e. he was doing everyone a favor using all that land, although I somehow doubt the area’s property value has decreased). He added a large garden, most of which he allowed to dry up. Because they are only two people their water allocation at the normal rates can’t support the garden.
At this point Litzman interrupted him. “Tell the story! I read your mail and it was so touching.” Apparently, four years ago the man’s son was killed in battle, and the father erected a memorial corner in his garden. Now he is worried that the price of water will get so high that he won’t be able to continue watering the olive tree in memory of his son.
There are so many things wrong with this.
There needs to be healthy debate about water policy in Israel. But Neubach didn’t invite anyone to present a view in supporting of current policy.
No policy will please everyone, and some people will be hurt more than others. That’s how it is whenever you have a tax, fine or rate increase. Neubach’s only positive suggestion was to give discounts to people who save water instead of fining people for wasting it.
I’m no expert on water policy. But I know enough to be disturbed by people who talk as if having as much water as you want at a cheap price is a God-given right. Israel has a finite amount of fresh water, and it’s time we started working together to find solutions.
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This is the Way We Wash the Floor
Water-Saving Showerhead
Many Israelis are distressed to realize that they will be paying a lot of tax on excess water, maybe several hundred shekel a month. In my last post on the water crisis in Israel, I asked readers for suggestions. I’m going to compile the replies here, and add a few comments of my own.
The standard allocation for each family should be more than enough for a family’s normal washing, cooking, and laundry needs. Every drop counts, and saving water saves you money on the water, the sewage, and wear and tear on your water heater even if it’s solar. I doubt that a few long showers by teens would be enough to make a difference, but ever drop counts. If you are way over the limit I think that one of these is the most likely cause:
I took a look at my bill, and noticed that this billing period was about 71, but last one was 56 and the previous 53, and all previous between 43 and 53.
I called the water collection company (my local municipal gviah). The clerk suggested that I check for leaks by turning off all of the faucets, then see if the water meter is spinning. If it is spinning, there is probably a leak.
The clerk went on to say that if I have a leak, the plumber should give a receipt, which I could send to the water bill appeals committee (I kid you not) and I might get a refund!
Well, all that is exactly what happened! I faxed a letter with the gist of what I wrote here along with the receipt, and today they called and said I would be getting an NIS 120 refund! (I think this is how much the 10 cubic meters a month would cost at the lowest price.)
Whatever – the heightened awareness of noticing any movement on the tiny gear of my water meter (a full revolution is one liter, I think) and realizing that you can get money back that easily, and all these water saving tips, were all worth it.
Bottom line – always submit plumber bills to the Gviah – what have you got to lose?
I heard of several people who discovered leaks after being notified by the water company that their usage had shot up suddenly.
People object to the tax claiming that the government is a big water waster, the tax money should go to solve the crisis and not to the government, and that the agricultural and industrial sectors are to blame for the crisis. While these objections have a basis at the end of the day our country’s water is a precious resource and we have a responsibility to use as little as we can.
This is the Way We Wash the Floor
Gidon Ariel left this comment on my post about the water tax:
My bill is closer to 70 koob (cubic meters) for a family of seven for 2 months! (33 at 4 NIS, 14 at 5.5, and 24 at 7.9! Will the 20 NIS a cubic meter fine go on the last group only or also on the 5.5 NIS group?:-( And are we being charged properly, or is the water authority pulling our plug?) and you said you use 26 for the two months of Pesach . . .
I saw your post about getting rid of our Maytag, and peeked at your Purim mask [with more water-saving suggestions], but can someone show me a way to cut my usage by two-thirds????
Well, if you have 5 children you should be getting an extra 6 cubic meters a month at the lowest rate. I think that would put you at 36 cubic meters at the lowest rate of NIS 4. Otherwise the rate sounds similar to what I have paid until now, but I don’t have access to my water bill at the moment. Yes, you would pay the tax on the last 24 cubic meters.
Another reader I know has a similar problem. She also has a Maytag From an email list I learned that some Maytags have different settings. A poster was complaining that her laundry came out full of lint, so another poster recommended a different setting that allows an extra rinse. This means filling up the drum a second time. So if you cut that out, that would be an easy way to save (but I don’t know about the linty clothes.) Are there other Maytag users out there having problems keeping within their limits?
Other things to check:
Here are more ideas from someone named Dani Seeman on the Ramat Beit Shemesh list:
The official Israeli website recommends some obvious simple things (fix leaks, turn the water off when you are brushing your teeth or lathering in the shower, take shorter showers, wash your car with a bucket, etc.).
We took this a step further, and we have implemented some simple solutions that conserve A LOT of water (about 45% on our last bill), & allow us to continue to water our garden (although less than previously). This required an investment of about NIS 150, and about 10 minutes per day ongoing.
We recycle the water from the bath/shower & the kitchen (you can also recycle the water from your washing machine in the same manner). We invested in 2 large garbage cans (one to hold clean water, and the second to hold soapy water), 8 pails (the simple plastic pails that are used in construction cost NIS 5 each), and a few natlot (plastic washing cups with handles, about NIS 3 each).
- When running a bath or shower, while the water is heating up, we put the nozzle into the garbage can for clean water, and the water is stored in the garbage can instead of going down the drain. Also, we do netillat yadayim (ritual hand washing) over the garbage can for clean water, so this is also saved.
- After the water heats up, plug the bathtub. After your bath/shower, use a pail to scoop up the soapy water into the garbage pail for soapy water.
- The clean water is used for watering the garden. The soapy water is used to fill the small pails. Two to three pails are put in each bathroom, with a natla per bathroom. Instead of flushing with clean water, we flush by pouring some of the soapy water with the natla into the toilet.
- In the kitchen, we keep a huge plastic salad bowl in the sink. All the clean water (e.g. from netillat yadayim, rinsing vegetables, rinsing plates in clean water, etc) goes into the salad bowl. This clean water also goes to the garden. (We generate about 2-3 buckets daily in the kitchen, and about 4-5 on shabbat).
Additional suggestions:
- Some web sites state that soapy bath water can be used directly in the garden. I’m worried that this may kill the plants, so I use just clean water in the garden, and the soapy water for flushing. We don’t save the soapy water from the kitchen, it tends to be too dirty. [MiI: Water from the bath or washing machine is fine, but water from dishes usually has too much bacteria. Bathwater can also be used in the washing machine.]
- You can also save the water from the washing machine in the same way. I haven’t tried this yet.
- You can use a small pump (e.g. a drill pump) to pump out the water from the bathtub into the garbage can or directly to the garden. I find it easier to just use a pail and scoop it up.
- Admittedly, the soapy water in the toilet is a bit gross. Any suggestions how to make it less so? Maybe put one of those water colouring things in the toilet? And remember that it helps the Kinneret . . .
If you know Dani please send him or her over this way.
Last night, after a noisy reading in our synagogue (but with only a few caps), I asked my daughter if she wanted to come to the women’s reading of Megillat (Scroll of) Esther this morning. She didn’t say no right away, which is almost a yes for a teen, so we went. I don’t believe I’ve ever been to a women’s reading before.
There were about 25 people there, half of them teenagers. Considering Petach Tikva’s 300 Orthodox synagogues, I would have expected a larger crowd. Possibly there were other women’s readings elsewhere. The three readers, including one teen, had prepared well.
The woman in charge wore a fake fur hat. I remember having one like it about ten years ago, when fur patterns were in style. One evening after I put mine on my little daughter (now the teen) asked me where I was going. “To a party,” I told her. “Oh,” she said. “Do you have to dress up like a puppy?”
This prompted me to give away the hat. I should have saved it for Purim.
Now we’re busy delivering Emunah packages, cooking, and reducing, reusing and recycling the mishloach manot.
Purim humor from around the web:
I love to cook with my microwave. Sure, it’s possible to manage without it, and there are better ways to defrost food.
However, there are environmentally sound reasons for preferring it to conventional cooking: It only heats the moisture in food, so more energy is retained. Microwave cooking preserves nutrients in vegetables. And since many microwave utensils can go straight to the table and they scorch less, less water and detergent are needed for washing up.
Because microwaves cook food using electromagnetic radiation, many people are afraid to use them. The FDA discusses the issue here. I’m not here to convince anyone to buy an electrical appliance they don’t feel comfortable with.
But when a post on Green Prophet made questionable claims about microwaved foods, I spoke up in the comments and offered to debunk the claim that seeds watered with microwave-boiled water won’t sprout.
[My Purim basket Giveaway ends Monday, March 3.]
Sometimes the urban environment is an ideal place for wild animals. Here’s an example: In 2006, Petach Tikva’s two hospitals merged to form the Rabin Medical Center. Since then, several new buildings have appeared at the Beilinson campus while the Hasharon campus, several kilometers away, lies stagnating.
The health ministry originally planned to shut down Hasharon completely, but workers and residents protested and prevented the closure. Large departments in Hasharon, such as maternity, closed or moved to Beilinson but others, including orthopedics and internal medicine, exist in both places. Hasharon is viewed as a friendly, community-based hospital while Beilinson has become a large medical center with numerous specialties.
Nothing illustrates the stagnation of Hasharon more than the building pictured above. I’m not sure whether it was meant for a clinic or offices, or even parking, but shortly before the merger took place someone scrapped the project. This was bad news for the neighborhood’s elderly and sick. Yet all was not lost–this abandoned building on a huge plot of valuable, government-owned property in the middle of a residential neighborhood–turned out to be the perfect habitat for bats.
Walking by at twilight one can hear hundreds of shrieking bats and even view them flying back and forth. Some residents avoid the place, while others are fascinated. Recently my husband has seen bats swooping over the street late at night. When he called the city’s hotline, he was told that they don’t deal with bats.
Petach Tikva has invested large funds in beautifying the city. Let’s hope that it will put pressure on the health ministry to remove this eyesore. Maybe they can merge it with the local zoo.
More on animals in urban settings: The “Street Goats” of Bnei Brak.
This post originally appeared on Green Prophet and is reprinted with permission.
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