The Israel Electric Corp. today notified the Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton Corp., of this city, of the official acceptance of the first million-gallons-a-day fresh water plant in Israel, located in Eilat. J. Pelled, managing director of the Israeli firm, wrote to the American firm, a subsidiary of Armour and Company.
“The plant has been operating for a two-week test period at its guaranteed output of 1, 000, 000 gallons per day of distilled water drawn from the Red Sea at the Bay of Eilat,” Mr. Pelled reported. Furthermore, during the last two months, the plant was tentatively operated at a constant output of 5 percent higher than guaranteed, with peaks reaching 25 percent, he added.
He said the average water purity exceeded the purity factor specified in the contract, and noted that Red Sea water is 30 percent saltier than normal ocean water. “We are sure that the experience will be of value for the development of future and bigger plants, both in our country and for other nations in need of fresh, potable water,” Mr. Pelled stated. The Eilat plant is a flash-distillation unit. It is a dual-purpose facility which also produces electricity for the City of Eilat.
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