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11:09 GMT, December 21, 2009 Water consumption among the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) Ground Forces were reduced by 21% during the first half of the year 2009 compared to the same period last year, according to the Department of Energy Conservation of the Center for Construction. It is expected that this reduction in water consumption will not stop in the summer, but will in fact continue until the end of the year. Likewise, the electricity consumption of the IDF Ground Forces decreased by 3% from January to August 2008.

"I believe that this meaningful conservation we are witnessing comes as a result of the widespread educational activities which the IDF carried out in order to raise awareness of this issue," said Maj. Ludwig Varga, head of the Department of Energy Conservation of the Center for Construction. "Until now we haven't seen a decline this large in electricity consumption, and I believe that the seminars, letters and publications, and the 2 courses on ‘energy conservation’ which were held this year, influenced the electricity consumption of the soldiers."

Water and electricity conservation are extremely helpful to the environment, and also helpful to the wallet – the decline in water consumption in the first half of 2009 saved the IDF approximately three and a half million shekels. The IDF's use of electricity is so vast that even saving a few percentages worth, in this case approximately 3%, brought about an enormous saving of no less that approximately eleven million shekels.

In preparation for the year 2010, the Deputy Chief of General Staff posted a goal for continued conservation - reducing water and electricity consumption by an additional 10%. In the Center for Construction, many programs are already being prepared in order to help soldiers attain that goal. One of these programs is a water saver regulation – water conservation appliances- on all IDF faucets. In the coming months it is expected that that Water Authority will bring these water conservation appliances to the IDF, who will install the units in an independent fashion. "By March 2010, the appliances will be integrated in all of the IDF," reports Maj. Varga. "The installation will be done in an independent fashion, but if there is a problem, the Center for Construction will give the units support."

In addition, the Center for Construction is working to make solar power more widespread as a solution for heating water, especially in bases in the Southern Command, and also to exchange old air-conditioning units whose output is relatively small to the amounts of electricity they require, with new divided units. "It is clear that IDF soldiers understand the importance of maintaining the quality of the environment and conserving electricity and water. Awareness of this issue increased greatly in past years. Even simple programs, like shorter shower time allotments or irrigating gardens according to the instructions of the General Staff, bring about vast conservation, and I believe that the soldiers will accomplish this mission of conservation successfully."