We have come so far in destroying the water cycle and the availability of good, healthy drinking water that more and more people have to rely on sea water, which is treated in huge, energy-intensive desalination plants. But this desalinated water could be a health risk, a new study from Israel shows.
The lack of magnesium in Israel’s desalinated water — which flows into 70 percent of the country’s households — may lead to an increased risk of ischemic stroke and type 2 diabetes, according to a recent study published by the Taub Center for Social Policy Studies in Israel.
“Israel needs to put back magnesium into its drinking water,” said Maya Sadeh, head of the Environment and Health Research and Policy Initiative at Taub Center, who conducted the study with professors Itamar Grotto, Nadav Davidovitch, and Alex Weinreb.
There are currently five desalination plants in Israel: Hadera, Sorek, Ashdod, Ashkelon, and Palmachim. A sixth plant is under construction north of Acre. At these plants, Israel desalinates approximately 585 million cubic meters of water each year.
Before desalination, people who drank plain tap water received about 15% of their recommended daily magnesium intake from it. Today, the lack of magnesium in the water means a drop in consumption of the mineral. In addition, about 46% of the population have home water filters, which removes all the magnesium.
Read the article about the study here on The Times of Israel
Access the full study on the website of the Taub Center here
