In Israel there are 270 companies, most of them start-up companies, dealing in the water sector

This is according to a survey conducted by the Administration of Knowledge and Technology Industries at the Ministry of Taxation* Israel specializes in the construction of desalination facilities, irrigation systems, sewage reclamation and in the field of management and control of water resources

The Knowledge and Technology Industries Administration at the Ministry of Water Resources has recently completed an up-to-date survey on the water technology industries 2007.

In June 2006, the government decided to invest an amount of NIS 2008 million from the state budget until 120.
According to the government's decision, a plan to promote the water technology sector will be implemented under the leadership of the Ministry of Water Resources and in partnership with the Prime Minister's Office, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Infrastructure, the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the Export Institute, the Standards Institute, the Water Commission, the Water and Sewerage Corporations, the Council for higher education and the administration for the development of sewage infrastructure.

The findings of the survey are:-
• In the water industries sector, 270 companies and research institutions operate in Israel in development and production, employing approximately 8,000 workers in Israel. Of the companies, about 60 are start-up companies, whose main activity is in R&D and which started their activities after 2001.
• The export of the water industries increased from about 700 million dollars in 2005 to about 850 million dollars in 2006. A growth rate of about 21 percent.
• According to updated data for today, in 2007 the scope of the industry is expected to be about 1,100 million dollars, an increase of over 28 percent compared to 2006.
This increase is explained both by an increase in export sales of the older companies in the industry and by the entry into export of some of the start-up companies that have finished product development.

More emerges from the survey:
* The total global water market is estimated at over 410 billion dollars per year. In 2015 it is expected to reach over 600 billion dollars.
* Israel is already today a key player occupying a large part of the world market in some areas of technologies and is a world leader in 4 different areas of the water industry such as the construction of desalination plants, (the largest desalination plant in the world operates in Ashkelon), irrigation systems, sewage treatment (75% Of the wastewater collected, the second country in the world is Spain, where only about 20% of the water is recycled) and in the field of management and control of water resources.
* Israel has a professional and high-quality human pool, knowledge and research and academic infrastructure for the development and application of technologies in various fields of water treatment and "war on the desert".
* In various areas of water technologies, Israel has an image of a creative country with research, invention, development, entrepreneurship and application capabilities. There are currently technological ideas and developments, and proven technologies in various stages of R&D, especially in areas such as irrigation, desalination, filtration and fertilization, sewage purification and treatment, sewage treatment, and the like. Many companies and international bodies come to Israel in order to be impressed by this struggle that Israel has succeeded in, in recent decades, and this reputation is a national asset that can be realized with the right policy for the business economic benefit of all entities in the field.
* There are several companies in technology incubators that work with the assistance of the chief scientist in the development of water technologies. Many start-up companies, some of which came out of technological incubators, are also active in the field of water technologies.
* The national water company of Israel "Mekorot" has been operating for several years the WaTech program which enables the maturation of the technologies, the establishment of Beta Site facilities and the assimilation of the products first within the framework of Mekorot.
* The branch of systems for conveying water and liquids, piping and pumping equipment, equipment and systems for cleaning and treating swimming pools, solar systems for heating water is the largest in terms of the scope of exports and in terms of the number of employees among the branches of water technology. About 3,000 people are employed in this industry and the volume of exports of the industry is expected to reach about 2007 million dollars in 430 compared to about 350 million dollars in 2006.
* The irrigation and water equipment industry for agriculture and gardening is an industry with the fastest growth rate among all the industries that make up the water technologies industry, a growth rate of over 30% per year.
* The branch of control systems and water meters is the branch where the rate of growth is expected to be particularly fast in the world, due to the increase in demand in relation to simple water meters, especially in countries such as China, India and Russia, and the increase in demand for remote water meter reading technologies in developed countries.
* About 60% of all start-up companies in the field of water technology industries are in the field of filtration and purification systems, wastewater treatment, biological chemical water treatment and water desalination. It is to be expected that the entry in recent years and the expected continued entry in the near future of the number of start-up companies that exist in the industry and their transition from the R&D phase to international production and marketing, will result in a very significant increase in the industry's export sales.

Based on a press release from the Ministry of Public Transport