Knesset Committee expediting bill on water-saving devices

Water-saving faucet attachments are reported to cut water consumption by some 15 percent. However, they are used in only some 20% of homes in Israel.

The Knesset House Committee has decided to expedite legislation that would require the installation of water-saving devices (known in Hebrew as "has'chamim", a play on the words "save" and "smart") on all faucets in public institutions, according to the Web site www.local.co.il. The "Has'chamim Law" - proposed by Yohanan Plessner (Kadima), Estherina Tartman (Israel Beiteinu) and Labor Secretary-General Eitan Cabel in cooperation with the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel - stipulates that public buildings, such as local councils, government ministries, and government-run companies, install such devices. It also requires that supervisors be appointed to enforce the law. Water-saving faucet attachments are reported to cut water consumption by some 15 percent. However, they are used in only some 20% of homes in Israel. Cabel, Tartman and Plessner hope that requiring public buildings to install such water-saving devices will raise public awareness about the country's water crisis. The bill was exempted from presentation to the Knesset House Committee, which means it won't have to wait the standard 45 days before it can enter the legislative process. The Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI) expressed its approval of the bill in a statement: "We are pleased that the Knesset House Committee understands the importance of expediting this legislation, as part of the efforts to improve the water situation in Israel."