Who Produces the Wastewater in the West Bank?
About 27% of West Bank wastewater is produced by Israelis and about 73% by Palestinians, on the Knesset Research and Information Centre’s figures.
About 27% of the wastewater in the West Bank is produced by Israelis and about 73% by Palestinians, on figures the Knesset Research and Information Centre published in its paper on Israeli-Palestinian cooperation on water issues, and the Interim Agreement Israel and the PLO signed on 28 September 1995 makes plans for new sewage systems subject to a joint committee. The Centre puts the wastewater from Israeli towns and villages in the West Bank at about 19 million cubic metres a year. It publishes no cubic-metre figure for the Palestinian-produced share. Both shares carry the paper’s own approximation.
| Figure | What it counts | Period |
|---|---|---|
| About 27% | Share of West Bank wastewater produced by Israelis | West Bank, as published |
| About 73% | Share of West Bank wastewater produced by Palestinians | West Bank, as published |
| About 19 million cubic metres | Wastewater from Israeli towns and villages in the West Bank | Per year |
| About 85% | Share of that 19 million cubic metres treated in treatment plants | Per year |
| About 15% | Share of that 19 million cubic metres not treated at all | Per year |
| About 20% | Share of Israel’s water consumption supplied by the Mountain Aquifer | Annual consumption |
Source: Knesset Research and Information Centre, Israeli-Palestinian Cooperation on Water Issues.
Israelis produce about 27% of West Bank wastewater, Palestinians about 73%
The Knesset Research and Information Centre, the research service of Israel’s own legislature, reports the split as about 27% Israeli-produced and about 73% Palestinian-produced. The two shares are of one quantity, the wastewater of the West Bank, and they sum to the whole. The same paper records that the Mountain Aquifer supplies about 20% of Israel’s water consumption, with a recharge area of about 1,800 square kilometres inside a collection basin of about 6,000 square kilometres.
Israeli localities produce about 19 million cubic metres a year
The Knesset Research and Information Centre, Israel’s own legislative research service, puts wastewater from Israeli towns and villages in the West Bank at about 19 million cubic metres a year, and splits it into about 85% treated in wastewater treatment plants and about 15% not treated at all. The volume covers Israeli localities only, so it is not a West Bank total, and the two treatment shares are shares of it rather than of the territory.
Oslo II Article 40 defers ownership of sewage infrastructure
Article 40 of the Interim Agreement, in the English text published by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a party to the agreement, governs water and sewage in the West Bank and leaves ownership of the infrastructure to a later stage. The water quantities the same article set sit alongside these sewage provisions. Three clauses carry the point:
- Paragraph 5: “The issue of ownership of water and sewage related infrastructure in the West Bank will be addressed in the permanent status negotiations.”
- Schedule 8, paragraph 2.d: “Plans for construction of new water and sewage systems or modification of existing systems require the prior approval of the JWC.”
- Paragraph 14, on the Joint Water Committee the Agreement establishes with an equal number of representatives from each side: “All decisions of the JWC shall be reached by consensus, including the agenda, its procedures and other matters.”
The Comptroller counts 150.6 million cubic metres of freshwater consumed
The State Comptroller of Israel, Israel’s state audit institution reporting to the Knesset, records freshwater consumption in the Samaria water economy as a single combined figure for Palestinians and Israelis alike, published without a split between them. The audit also counts the residents of Jewish localities in Judea and Samaria on its own definition of those localities, and sets out a purchase tariff for a local authority that has not incorporated.
| Figure | What it counts | Period |
|---|---|---|
| 150.6 million cubic metres | Freshwater consumed by Palestinians and Israelis alike | One year named in the audit |
| 463,000 | Residents of Jewish localities in Judea and Samaria | End of a year named in the audit |
| NIS 0.468 per cubic metre | Purchase by a local authority that has not incorporated, up to the permitted quantity | As set in the audit |
Source: State Comptroller of Israel, Selected Issues in the Samaria Water Economy.
No Palestinian wastewater volume or treatment figure appears here
The Knesset Research and Information Centre publishes the Palestinian side as a percentage share and nothing further. What is absent from the Israeli record read here:
- No cubic-metre figure for Palestinian-produced wastewater in the West Bank.
- No treated and untreated split for the Palestinian-produced share.
- No plant-by-plant capacity list and no discharge count in any State Comptroller audit read here, including the Comptroller’s audit of water source monitoring inside Israel.
Which figures here may not be divided into one another?
The 73% and the 19 million cubic metres belong to different totals: the share is of all West Bank wastewater, the volume is of Israeli localities only, so applying one to the other produces no Palestinian volume. The 150.6 million cubic metres is freshwater consumed, not wastewater produced, and the State Comptroller of Israel publishes it as one combined figure for both populations. Every share and volume above carries the issuing body’s own approximation, and the approximations stay as published. The Comptroller counts residents of Jewish localities on its own definition, which differs from counts published on other conventions.
Questions readers ask
Who produces most of the wastewater in the West Bank?
The Knesset Research and Information Centre reports that about 73% is produced by Palestinians and about 27% by Israelis.
How much wastewater do Israeli localities in the West Bank produce?
The Knesset Research and Information Centre puts it at about 19 million cubic metres a year from Israeli towns and villages.
How much of that is treated?
The Knesset Research and Information Centre records about 85% treated in wastewater treatment plants and about 15% not treated at all.
Is there a published figure for the Palestinian volume?
The Knesset Research and Information Centre publishes a percentage share for the Palestinian side and no cubic-metre figure.
Can the 73% be applied to the 19 million cubic metres?
No. The Knesset Research and Information Centre reports the share against all West Bank wastewater and the volume against Israeli localities only.
Who approves new sewage systems in the West Bank?
The Interim Agreement, as published by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a party to it, states that plans for construction or modification require the prior approval of the Joint Water Committee.
Does the Interim Agreement say who owns the infrastructure?
The Interim Agreement states that ownership of water and sewage related infrastructure in the West Bank will be addressed in the permanent status negotiations.
How does the Joint Water Committee decide?
The Interim Agreement records equal representation from each side and states that all decisions shall be reached by consensus, including the agenda.
Does Article 40 cover Gaza?
No. The Interim Agreement, published by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, leaves the existing Gaza arrangements unchanged under Schedule 11.
How much of Israel’s water comes from the Mountain Aquifer?
The Knesset Research and Information Centre reports that the Mountain Aquifer supplies about 20% of Israel’s water consumption.
What does the State Comptroller publish on consumption?
The State Comptroller of Israel records 150.6 million cubic metres of freshwater consumed by Palestinians and Israelis alike in the Samaria water economy, for one year named in the audit.
Sources
- Israel and the PLO, 1995. The Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, Annex III, Appendix 1, Article 40, and Schedules 8 and 11. English text published by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Official and primary record.
- Knesset Research and Information Centre. Israeli-Palestinian Cooperation on Water Issues. knesset.gov.il. Official and primary record.
- State Comptroller of Israel. Selected Issues in the Samaria Water Economy. Reports on the audit of local government. mevaker.gov.il. Official and primary record.
