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 Take it to court or get the law repealed.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.

1. You don’t build public policy around one olive tree, no matter how meaningful. Let MKs Tirosh or Litzman propose a law allocating water to preserve special projects.
2. Let’s remember the soldiers who died protecting the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) in 1967 and 1973. Maybe saving it from ecological destruction will honor them as much as the olive tree honors that man’s son.
3. Let’s remember the current and future soldiers who protect our land and water. I don’t want my sons to have to participate in some future “water war” because Israel let individuals’ interests get in the way of conserving our limited national supply.
4. Litzman is charedi and presumably didn’t send his kids to the army. I bristle at a show of compassion for families of fallen soldiers from people who encourage their kids to opt out while others risk their lives to protect them. I bristle even more when they show compassion to someone who happens to be on the same side in a political argument.

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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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:

Major Sources of Excess Water Usage

1. Maytag or similar top-loading American washing machine with a central agitator.  Gidon scanned the instructions showing the water usage for each Maytag cycle. According to Ynet, an efficient front-loader uses about 50 liters a cycle while the “extra-large” Maytag cycle uses 151. People claim that they fit more clothes. I don’t agree that the difference is so great, because you can stuff things more closely into a smaller front-loader where top-loaders need to load the clothes loosely. But even a “large” Maytag cycle uses 132 liters,  and more for a permanent press cycle.
2. Leaks. Here’s how Gidon found his:
   

   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.

3. Workers, teens, etc. We can’t always control what happens in our home. But I have been frustrated by cleaners who poured bucket after bucket of used water into the toilet. It’s possible to wash a large area of floor with one bucket. Also, rinsing out rags in the sink can be very wasteful. Unless you are careful to save the washing water it’s probably better to have a larger supply and wash them in the machine at regular intervals. Also, most cleaners use too much detergent or cleanser. When cleanser is not diluted enough it doesn’t work as well, and requires more water for rinsing. It’s also possible that children or other family members are using excess water without your knowledge.
4. Reverse osmosis water filter. This is they type that is stored under the sink. They waste more water than they filter, up to 70%. If you can’t live without it, at least avoid using that water for cooking or washing and better yet, find a way to save the excess. Israeli tap water is just as safe as bottled water and contains valuable minerals. It’s also much better for the environment than using those bottles, even if yo rec
5. Toilets. Installing two-level toilets will save a great deal of water; we just put one in ourselves. Most of the time the smaller flush is enough even for #2. If not, just flush again. The more people in the family (especially small children), the more you will save.
6. Gardens. My friends are serious gardeners, but in light of the crisis they stopped watering everything but the trees. They don’t feel comfortable using gray water, even though the water from the washing machine, bath, and vegetable cleaning should be fine. Mrs. S. collects the water from her air conditioner in a bucket and waters a different section of her yard all day. That water is clean so it presumably could be used for laundry as well, and then to the garden. Jameel is rigging up his Maytag to use the waste for the garden. I know some who have done the same for their bath water.
7. Other suggestions mentioned in the comments:
   • Installing a timer for the shower faucet, that turns it off or makes the water run cold after a prescribed time.
   • Setting aside the water while waiting for the hot water to run.
   • Saving bath water.
   • Using a dishwasher (full, of course).
   • Installing chaschamim, devices that make the water spray instead of just run down.
   • Soaking dishes, sponging them, then rinsing them quickly under a chascham.
   • Not flushing the toilet every single time.

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.

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Photo credit: Kevin Dooley

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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:

• That the communal water usage isn’t the problem (tzricha meshutefet).
• That there is no leakage anywhere–just turn everything off and look at your meter.
• If it takes a while to get hot water, keep a bucket handy and use the water for your washing machine or toilet.

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.

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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:

• Joshua Waxman informs us about the latest tzniut chumra (modesty stringency).
• The Rebbetzin’s Husband is in favor of abolishing the rabbi’s speech.
• The Orthodox Union initiates Ot Yomit.
• Jacob Richman’s Purim Page includes new “gramen” for 2009.

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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.

Since I only set out to prove that seeds would sprout in microwave-boiled water, a control was unnecessary. In other words, if those seeds didn’t sprout, nothing would be proven–there are many reasons for seeds not to sprout. Still, I put a few lettuce seeds and two black-eyed peas into each of two cups.

I used a bed of dryer lint, having no cotton balls in the house. I admit there is little environmental justification for a dryer, (though the lint can be used for compost), but I have six kids and it had been a rainy week.

I boiled water in a glass container, let it cool, and poured it on the seeds. For the control I used water boiled in a kettle on top of the stove.

Seeds Sprouting in Microwaved Water

The lettuce seeds sprouted after only two or three days, and the peas are starting to sprout too. It’s true that more seeds sprouted from the water boiled conventionally, but seeds are unpredictable. At any rate the microwave did not alter the water enough to prevent sprouting.

My son decided to do a further experiment. A Hebrew book for children, Mahapach, collects scientific experiments intended to “prove” the truth of Judaism.

According to the book, experiments have shown that plants that have been verbally cursed grow more slowly than others. Without asking me, my son shouted into the cup with the microwaved water. (The seeds had sprouted so it didn’t affect our experiment.) I’m afraid that the other sprouts were close enough to hear, so I’m not sure of the validity of this part of the experiment. I wonder, though, whether plants understand Hebrew. What if a Hebrew curse is a blessing in another language?

This post originally appeared on Green Prophet and is reprinted with permission.

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[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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Last week my son brought home instructions for a school-wide project: Each family was to prepare a mask in honor of the upcoming holiday of Purim. To continue with the environmental theme, the masks were to be made of completely recyclable materials. Here are some of the criteria:

• Minimum size: 1 meter x 1 meter. Maximum size: 2 meters x 2 meters. So much for “less is more.”
• Good, stable, very strong gluing.
• Extensive use of recycled items.
• Paint only if necessary.
• The creation can follow the theme of a particular artist, contain an environmental message, revolve around a proverb, or whatever your imagination inspires.
• It’s important to involve as many members of the family as possible to talk about the importance of recycling.
• If it’s possible to work with joy, song, and laughter, mah tov. How good.

The teachers will grade the projects and choose ten winners each for first, second and third place. At the Purim carnival, parents can also award points to the projects. Worthwhile and respectable prizes will be awarded to the winners, and nice prices to the rest of the exhibitors.

Our biggest challenge was the large size, so we searched for boxes from the makolet (market) across the street. The box we wanted was damp from the rain. We cut it out into the shape of a water drop. The next day, I glued pieces of leftover packaging cardboard to the back to strengthen it. Then I glued old flyers to the front to make the background. You noticed the echoes of Mondrian, didn’t you?

Our theme revolves around ways to save water in the house. The “eye” on the left, an old CD (actually the annoying marketing CD the school sent before we applied), has little bits of fabric coming out from the side that are supposed to represent a spray of water. The caption reads “A water-saving device on each faucet.” The other “eye” is divided with a squiggly pipe-cleaner to represent a toilet flushing button containing two options, using all of the water in the tank or just half.

Below the eye on the right side, you can see spoons and a bottle of soap along with a bit of sponge as an ear. My kids insisted we use the sponge-ears on both sides. The caption reads, “Less soap = less rinse water.” The nose is from an egg carton (we actually give our egg trays back to the seller in the shuk) and the mouth is a bucket that says, “Save water for reuse.” My son enjoyed cutting up the little bits of blue cellophane.

On the left, notice the plant cut out of felt with the caption, “Grow plants that need little water.”

The bottom shows clothes cut out of fabric and a washing machine, with two captions: “Wash clothes with water from the bath,” and “Don’t clean clothes that aren’t dirty.”

Unless you count paper and fabric scraps leftover from other projects, the glue and the marker ink, which I also had in the house, were the only “new” items.

I admit (or maybe I shouldn’t!) that I was responsible for most of the concept and execution, but my seven-year-old son was involved all along the way. And we did have fun.

We called it by the alliterative name, Mayim Le-Machshavah, or “Water for Thought.”  You see, I’m a poet as well as an artist. Actually, I’m not, because my friend M. thought of that name.

We are now left with two burning questions: Will we win?
And, will the prizes be made in China?

Related posts:

Sukkah Project

Purim Costume–Not!

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Visitors to Israel are struck by the presence of the “street cats” who live comfortably among the urban population. But only Bnei Brak, Israel’s most densely populated city, has the zchut or privilege of being home to a herd of wild goats.

It started when my 12-year-old son told me that he sees sheep on his way to school. “You see WHAT?” I said. “I told you before,” he complained. “You never listen to me.” After some discussion we determined that they must be goats, and I reluctantly let him take my camera to collect the evidence. (Read here about the last time I let one of my kids touch my camera).

Goats in Bnei Brak, Israel

I wonder about what goats are doing in the predominantly charedi city of Bnei Brak. They might be useful for garbage disposal, the next time the municipality goes bankrupt and suspends sanitation service for a few weeks. Or residents could use them as an alternative source of kosher milk.

Perhaps they are meant to send us a spiritual message. Like the goats we have lost our way, forced to wander aimlessly without a true leader. Who will be the goatherd that we so desperately need? We clearly cannot rely on our politicians. Only the Holy One, Blessed Be He, can guide us through the challenges we face as a nation.

Related: Mrs. S. has a post by an Israeli goat owner.

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Yet the school exhibits some cognitive dissonance when it comes to the environment. I’ve already written about the ridiculous amount of school supplies and multicolored folders required for each child. After the environmental event kids were asked to bring in yet another plastic folder–this time green, along with writing paper and nylonim (clear plastic page covers)–for a unit about the environment. I recently noticed the unused folder in my son’s backpack. He thinks the teacher forgot about it.

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I used to take the bus to travel to Tel Aviv. I knew about the minivan companies that compete with the two major bus routes between Petach Tikva to Tel Aviv, but I hadn’t been on one in years. There was something slightly disreputable about them–after all, chapper is Yiddish for grabber. I believe that these minivans have only recently become organized into companies and regulated. They are also known as sheruyot, plural for sherut. More than one new immigrant has mistakenly asked for the sherutim and ended up at the bathroom. But I digress.

My son had told me that chapperim are much quicker than the regular bus, so one evening when I was running late I decided to take my chances. You wait on the street–it doesn’t have to be a regular bus stop–and when a van approaches you signal the driver. If he has space for one more he opens the door. I am always slightly surprised that the driver has control of the passenger side–after all it’s a van, not a bus.

With no room to stand you must duck and find a seat as quickly as possible. Each van contains about ten seats, with a column of seats against each window and a row of three in the back. There are even working seatbelts.

The cooperation begins when it’s time to pay. The newest passenger passes the fare forward to the person in front of him, who passes it forward in turn until it reaches the driver. Passengers must be careful not to drop the coins in the dark. If a religious passenger needs to pass coins to a passenger of the opposite sex, the two are careful to avoid touching hands.

When the driver receives the coins, he calls out to ask the passenger’s destination. He then counts out the appropriate change and the process repeats itself, in reverse.

When you ride a bus, you are on your own. You listen to music, read, or close your eyes. The bus is full of sleeping soldiers or chattering groups of teenagers. Few children ride the chapper–they don’t get the substantial discount that they do on the bus–and most passengers are traveling alone.

When you climb onto the chapper, you have accepted an unwritten obligation to interact and cooperate with the other passengers. You can’t pretend to be asleep, and it’s too dark to read. You could sit in the back, I guess, but you’d have to wait a while for your change.

I’m going to be grabbing the chapper more often.

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