The record rainfall Israel experienced was all the rage this winter. The Kineret (Sea of Galilee) has finally reached capacity for the first time in 28 years. This blessing however, will not be enjoyed by thirsty Israelis. That’s because the Sea of Galilee is no longer used for drinking water. Additionally, the country’s  infrastructure doesn’t allow the proper collection of rainfall even in a rainy winter like the 2019-2020 season.

The transition

This leaves desalinized water as Israel’s only source of drinking water. The problem with the desalinization plants in Israel is that they under-perform in terms of expectations and “there’s a lot of mismanagement” explains Geoffrey Rochwarger, founder and CEO Atid Drilling in Bet Shemesh . Originally from New York Rochwarger initially ran a company drilling for oil in the Golan Heights region. And although his company didn’t strike oil, they did accidentally strike water. It was at that moment that Rochwarger pivoted his company’s drilling efforts from black gold to H2O.

Farmer’s water

Rochwarger notes that the under-performance of desalinization plants means that although there is perhaps enough water for drinking, there’s not enough for agriculture in Israel. Farmers in Israel rely on well water. But since virtually all of the rights to drill well water belong to a government owned monopoly called Mekorot, the amount of wells that should be drilled in Israel hasn’t reached a fraction of its potential.

The problem

The problem he explains is that even Israel’s current wells aren’t performing as they are outdated and the drilling equipment used has caused them to erode. “Dating back 70 years, there was a network of water wells that ranged between 100-1,000 meters deep” Rochwarger explains. “The wells were drilled over a decade ago. The problem is that a large percentage of these wells are not producing waters from aquifers. Not because the aquifers are tapped out but rather because of outdated technology for drilling. Additionally, the the materials used for drilling has decayed. This decay has not only presented a situation where the wells are not only not producing at all, but are also producing at a reduced capacity. We’re talking about hundreds of wells throughout Israel.”

The monopoly

Mekorot is a government owned monopoly tasked with managing all the water throughout Israel – including well water. “They have been very comfortable with their monopoly status and have not allowed competition to enter” Rochwarger laments. “This led to zero upkeep or maintenance of the wells which translates into Israel not taking advantage of the underground water that it has.”

“The end result is that Mekorot has outdated equipment and no staff to run the outdated equipment” he says. “We access a very small amount of water that sits in out aquifers.”

High tech

“No other company has the advanced technology for drilling that Atid has” Rochwarger said. For example, to drill for water, a lot of water is needed. But because their technology relies on air, it is a far more efficient and cleaner means of drilling water than the old outdated technology.

The first job

One day, May Golan, a local government body in the Golan Heights, needed a well drilled in their municipal boundaries. They heard about the accidental well stumbled upon by Atid Drilling and hired them to do the job.

A wild goose chase

After drilling another well successfully in a cheaper, cleaner and more efficient manner, Rochwarger hoped to help supplement Mekorot with his company’s better, more advanced and cleaner equipment. And so, Rochwarger met with Mekorot to offer to work in a mutually beneficial joint venture whereby Atid would drill all the wells that Mekorot doesn’t have the capacity to. But after a lot of red tape, presentations and even instructions to obtain a permit that was never even used in the history of Israel, Atid realized that they were being sent on a wild goose chase.

Another job offer

But then, after hearing about their successful drilling project in the Golan, Israel’s water authority, another government agency who also shares some water drilling responsibility, realized that there’s a new kid on the block and that they could utilize another company besides Mekorot.

This came as good news for the water authority as they had three wells they wanted drilled “but had some questions about” Rochwarger said. Atid got the contract and drilled those wells successfully. “At that point, other non-government companies who also needed water wells suddenly realized that there is an alternative to Mekorot” he added. One of them included the publicly traded ICL company who had a well near the Dead Sea that needed to be drilled in what Rochwarger called “a learning experience.”

Nail in the coffin?

Until now, Atid has drilled approximately seven wells. And just as the momentum was swinging in their direction, Mekorot used their government connections to lay down another stumbling block.

As the previous government ended, Mekorot was forced to issue a tender for 80 wells to be drilled. This appeared to be good news for Rochwarger as his proven track record essentially made his company the only other one in Israel who could participate in the bid. But in an apparent last minute power-grab, Mekorot created a new front company called Mekorot Shacham who could be used as “another” company to participate in the tender. The content of the tender was phrased very carefully to ensure that essentially no other company aside from Mekorot Shacham could be considered. “The tender was so restrictive that it was designed in a way that would have made it impossible for any other company to participate” Rochwarger explains. Shacham Mekorot, was allowed to use their experience at Mekorot as a qualifier for the tender, which means that when Mekorot demanded that any company participating in the tender must have five years experience, Mekorot Shacham was basically the only company in Israel that qualifies even though they were created less than a year ago.

This decree could be the death blow to Rochwarger’s dream of extracting cleaner, cheaper water in a more efficient manner in Israel. Understanding Israel’s true water potential, Rochwarger says that he’s “frustrated.” He has already been forced to make a 25% cut and fears that bankruptcy could be looming around the corner even though the demand exists.