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Good practice Imported

Shafdan Dan Region Reclamation — Soil-Aquifer Treatment for Negev Irrigation

Israel · Rishon LeZion · See the Israel profile

Evidence: Observational / pre–post Top 58% 40/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Treated wastewater from 2.5 million Israelis is filtered through sand-basin soil-aquifer treatment for six months, then pumped 100 km south to irrigate over 60% of Negev agriculture — underpinning Israel's ~85-90% national wastewater-reuse rate.

>60%
Negev irrigation water from Shafdan
85-90%
National wastewater reuse rate
130-140 million m³/year
Reclaimed water volume
~80%
On-site electricity from biogas
Shafdan Dan Region Reclamation — Soil-Aquifer Treatment for Negev Irrigation

Details

Maturity
Established
Promoter
Mekorot – Israel National Water Company
Period
1970s (SAT scheme established) – present
Keywords
water & wastewater, agriculture, aquifer recharge

Context

The Shafdan (Dan Region) plant near Rishon LeZion treats municipal wastewater from roughly 2.5 million residents of the greater Tel Aviv area. After secondary treatment, effluent is spread across recharge basins where it percolates through natural sand layers for about six months — soil-aquifer treatment (SAT).

Activities

Mekorot, Israel's national water company, pumps the reclaimed water roughly 100 km south via the 'Third Line to the Negev' for unrestricted agricultural irrigation. Biogas from anaerobic sludge digestion is captured on-site and supplies about 80% of the facility's own electricity demand.

Results

More than 60% of irrigation water used in the Negev desert now originates from Shafdan. Nationally, Israel reclaims an estimated 85-90% of its municipal wastewater for agriculture — the highest reuse rate of any country — with the Dan Region system alone contributing roughly 130-140 million m³ of reclaimed water per year.

Conclusions

The SAT approach is cited internationally, including in EU-funded programmes such as SUWANU Europe, as a reference model for natural soil filtration ahead of unrestricted reuse; published sources do not report a formal greenhouse-gas balance or biodiversity assessment for the recharge basins.

Implementation
Indicative cost
High (€500k–€5M)
Time to results
Long (> 3 years)
Staffing & skills
Mekorot (Israel National Water Company) operations staff

Conditions for success

  • Natural sand-aquifer geology suitable for soil-aquifer treatment
  • National conveyance infrastructure (Third Line to the Negev)
  • On-site biogas capture reducing operating costs

Common failure modes

  • No published greenhouse-gas balance or biodiversity assessment for recharge basins

Commonly funded by

LIFE Programme Horizon Europe

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Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

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