Background: Mixing two sources for drinking water
Kvutzat Shiller, a kibbutz in central Israel, uses two different sources for its drinking water supply. The first is a kibbutz-owned well that pumps water from the aquifer. Although relatively inexpensive, the salinity level of this water varies from season to season, sometimes exceeding the nitrate level of 70mg/l permitted by Israeli water quality regulations. The second source is ‘Mekorot’, the national water company and top agency for water management in Israel, which supplies the country’s drinking water. This water is more expensive than water drawn from the kibbutz aquifer. To minimize the cost of drinking water by maximizing aquifer-sourced water, while remaining in strict compliance with regulations concerning nitrate levels, the kibbutz would manually mix the two water sources.