People paddle on a stand-up paddle board in the Sea of Galilee, northern Israel, Nov. 8, 2016. Photo: Reuters / Ronen Zvulun / File.

CTech – Israel’s national water company Mekorot’s next important challenge after managing the water economy and providing it to all residents of the country, is investing in the various digital fields — from cyber companies that will identify and prevent attacks on Israel’s water infrastructure to the use of artificial intelligence to manage data. This is what Chana Herstik Sichel, Mekorot’s chief legal counsel, said during a talk at the Mind the Tech conference in London.

According to her, analyzing and managing millions of data points a day will help the company achieve energy efficiency and great savings. Proper management of the information flowing from the sensors on the company’s sites also helps to monitor water quality continuously, purify water in cases of contamination and improve quality.

“Mekorot was established before the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 and the reason was simple — Israel never took water for granted and water was always a top priority. Mekorot is a completely state-owned company, but is listed on the stock exchange with an annual development budget of $400 million and a financial rating of Triple A,” she said.