Israel, Brazil sign know-how agreement for Bahia water management

Israel's national water company Mekorot has agreed to provide technical consultation to help improve water resource management for Brazil's Bahia state water utility Embasa. A technical cooperation agreement between the two was signed on Tuesday (Jul 30). Present at the signing were Embasa president Abelardo de Oliveira Filho and Mecorot business development director Alberto Blank, local news service Bahia Noticias reported. They were accompanied by Bahia's urban development secretary Cícero Monteiro and president of the state's environmental engineering company Cerb, Bento Ribeiro. "As Mekorot already operates in arid regions [such as Bahia], the goal of the partnership is to share know-how in groundwater exploration, water loss control, desalination technologies, and water resource management," Monteiro was quoted as saying in the report. Embasa, which is linked to Cerb as well as state urban development department Sedur, serves 12.3mn residents with potable water supply and 4.2mn with sewage collection services. The company's coverage area consists of 362 cities and towns. Founded in 1937, Mekorot supplies approximately 90% of Israel's water. It has made agreements with companies in numerous countries around the world, including one in 2009with southeastern Brazil's São Paulo state water utility Sabesp (Bovespa: SBSP3, NYSE: SBS).