Dilemmas of an Israeli Water Engineer

I am designing the water system of an egg processing factory. On the one hand, I designed an ingenious used water recycling system, where the egg wash water is treated with flocculants and filtered and chlorinated, saving money on the water consumption bill. On the other hand, I am designing the wastewater treatment system, to render the water suitable for disposal in the municipal network. Egg sewage contains no sugars or easily fermentable carbohydrates but has proteins which cannot be degraded rapidly. To comply with the draconian regulations, I have to treat the wastewater almost to drinking water purity. The penalties for infractions are prohibitive and the unpaid accumulated debts to the water companies are a national problem. Recently there was some movement towards forgiving some mountainous debts, but we are living in a transitory year with no government able to take decisions.

Water costs about 5 to 10 dollars a cubic meter, for the industry, and sewage disposal costs about the same - if the sewage complies with the maximum content norms. If not, the cost of disposal jumps logarithmically. No kidding. Thinking of my Client, it would be better NOT to recycle the water and not to save drinking water, therefore increasing the volume of the sewage to be disposed of. The highly diluted wastewater would need less treatment to comply with the regulations, and most importantly, no worries of penalties.

Common sense says that Green/Environmental engineering harms the interests of my highly valued Clients, and does nothing to save the Earth. Israeli mothers warn their children to eat all the junk food because... children are starving in Africa. Israeli regulators are even more stupid, they force the factories to save water because in Erythrea it is not raining.

I shall adopt the Israeli method to deal with impossible choices: walk between the raindrops.

ללכת בין הטיפות

Solution