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DEER VALLEY, Utah — Building off relationships established during a visit to Israel, state leaders are hoping to reach an agreement soon for more collaboration on water-saving technologies.
The directors of Utah's Department of Agriculture & Food as well as the Department of Natural Resources confirmed to FOX 13 News they met again with Israeli government officials last week as they discussed a potential memorandum of understanding on water conservation technologies.
"Ultimately the goal is to have an agreement with the Israeli government where they will help continue to share information with us and we will do the same as we continue to promote investment in those technologies," Utah Department of Natural Resources Executive Director Joel Ferry said Monday.
The Great Salt Lake Collaborative (of which FOX 13 News is a member) accompanied a state delegation to Israel last year as they met with government officials, scientists, farmers and researchers to learn about better ways to grow crops with less water. They visited desalination plants, drip irrigation system companies, agriculture research centers, farms and tech centers to learn how the country manages water and grows crops.
See more of the Great Salt Lake Collaborative's reporting from Israel here.
Speaking to FOX 13 News at a conference of agriculture leaders at Deer Valley on Monday, Utah agriculture commissioner Craig Buttars said they also updated Israeli officials on "how we’ve applied some of these things in the state, such as drip irrigation."
Agriculture is the Utah's top water user and the state has offered more than $250 million in incentives to get farmers and ranchers to switch to new irrigation systems that use significantly less water. It's not cheap, but the state is offering some pretty tempting incentives if a farmer is willing to ditch a pivot sprinkler system for drip irrigation. Where the state will offer a 50/50 split to a farmer to go to a more efficient sprinkler system? The state will offer a 70/30 split if they go to drip.
"We’ve seen in our water optimization program, we’ve had several projects come in that are for drip irrigation. We’re in the process right now of putting those projects on the ground — or in the ground," Buttars said. "So it’s been very beneficial for us to implement that technology."
The projects are still being rolled out and data on how much water is being conserved is still being collected, but Buttars said he believes it has resulted in water savings. He also intends to go back to Utah's Capitol Hill and ask the legislature for more money to keep expanding it.
"We’re expecting that we’ll look for an ongoing appropriation after the initial funding that we’ve gotten is spent and put on the ground," Buttars told FOX 13 News.
Israel is not the only foreign government that Utah is hoping to learn from. They are also engaged in conversations with Mexico about greenhouse growing and Iceland about harnessing geothermal energy. Ferry said the goal is to take the best knowledge and technology and help Utah manage its water supply.
"If we grow the way we’re projected to grow, and we want to continue to have farms and agriculture and industry and people using water the way that we want to use it — and also have enough water for our environment, in particular Great Salt Lake — we’ve got to change some practices," he said. "And so this change is what we’re looking at. Where is the most advanced form of conservation. Certainly Israel has led out in those fields."
