In contrast to a statement by the Health Ministry Thursday, that use of recycled "gray water" for home gardens and lawns is dangerous, Tel Aviv University is awarding students of the Ulpanat Tzviya school in Sdot Negev a prize for a study they conducted, showing that plants in a home garden watered with untreated gray water were not damaged in the least. Flowers and plants continued to bloom normally after being watered with runoff from washing machines and dishwashers, the study said – and in fact, they grew even faster under certain circumstances. The study was conducted last winter, in the midst of Operation Cast Lead.
The study has been submitted to an international water science fair in Stockholm, where Israel is being represented by members of TA University's Engineering Department. The University has given the teenagers an award for their accomplishment, and the Stockholm contest, which takes place later this year, could net them a prize of $5,000.