Strategies for sustainable water management in the face of scarcity and drought: the case of Barcelona

Transcription

1 Strategies for sustainable water management in the face of scarcity and drought: the case of Barcelona David Sauri Departament de Geografia Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

2 OUTLINE Introduction Challenges Opportunities (Conventional) Solutions Conflicts (Alternative) Solutions Conclusions: Which way ahead?

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4 The water supply system in Barcelona ATLL ( Aigües Ter Llobregat ): public company belonging to the Regional Department of the Environment. Distributes bulk water to companies supplying the cities of the Metropolitan Region of Barcelona. AGBAR: private company (70% of capital belongs to Suez Environnement since October 2009). Distributes water to domestic customers in Barcelona and Metropolitan Area. AGBAR is the largest water company of Spain supplying 13 million people in 1200 municipalities. It also supplies 10 million customers in Algeria, Chile, China, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico and the United Kingdom.

5 ATLL Distribution network

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7 Water stored in Barcelona reservoirs. January 2006 to April 2008 ACA, 2008

8 August 2006

9 February 2008

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11 CHALLENGES

12 Average annual precipitation of Catalonia inner basins. HIstogram (blue) indicates variation in precipitation with respect to the average value The line (red) indicates variation in accumulated annual precipitation with respect to the average accumula ted annual precipitation ACA 2008

13 Simulated evolution of water stored in the reservoirs of the Ter Llobregat system Alerta Emergència I,II,III i IV Excepcionalitat Volum a fi de mes (hm 3 ) The worst situation in 67 years!! ACA, 2008

14 HISTORICAL EVOLUTION OF URBAN LAND USE IN THE MRB Middle Ages From J. Acebillo i R. Folch: Atles Ambiental de l Àrea de Barcelona, Barcelona, Ed. Ariel, 2000.

15 Population change in the city of Barcelona population change in Barcelona population year

16 Poopulation change in the Metropolitan Region of Barcelona Population change Metropolitan Region of Barcelona population year

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18 Urban sprawl in the Mediterranean coast and water consumption Suburbanization and the proliferation of low dense residential fabrics is not only a problem of Barcelona but also strongly affect the Spanish Mediterranean coast and other parts of Europe In Spain, and concretely in the Mediterranean, this is a very important issue regarding water resources conservation Water consumption in the dense city: around 130 lpd (liters/person/day) Water consumption in suburban areas: > 200 lpd, with cases >500 lpd

19 Urban Density and domestic water consumption hab/km 2 urbanitzat Relació entre el consum facturat d'aigua domèstica i la densitat urbana en una mostra de municipis de l'àrea metropolitana de Barcelona (1999) L'Hospitalet St. Adrià del Besòs Martorell Barcelona St. Feliu de Llobregat Sabadell Premià de Dalt Sitges Cabrera Arenys de Munt de Mar Matadepera litres/habitant/dia Rivera, Capellades, Saurí, 2001

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22 OPPORTUNITIES

23 Very dense urban pattern Population density of Barcelona: near persons/sq kilometre London: persons/sq kilometre Los Angeles: persons/sq kilometre

24 High Efficiencies of water distribution networks 98 % of domestic water is metered Physical efficiencies of delivery networks: Aigües Ter-Llobregat (ATLL): 97% Aigües de Barcelona (AGBAR): 93 % (*) (*) Does not include losses by faulty meters or frauds (about 10% of all water delivered on the average for Barcelona)

25 Water price in Catalonia. Comparisons with other areas (euros/cubic meter)

26 Water prices in Spanish cities 2009 (*) (*) Cost for a bill of 175 m3/year

27 Water consumption for selected European Cities (2006)

28 Domestic water consumption in the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona. Evolution of domestic water consumption of the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona (20 municipalities)* cubic hectometers ACA, 2006

29 Water savings by Barcelona citizens during the drought of 2008 El Periódico, 22 september 2008

30 (CONVENTIONAL) SOLUTIONS

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33 July 2009: Barcelona goes Desal!

34 July Source: ATLL

35 The New Cornucopia? Desalination plants along the Mediterranean coast Desalination plants as the compromise solution to the tension between increasing demands of water (increase of the supply) along the Mediterranean coast and New Water Culture of the donor basins In 2009 desalination plants are expected to supply around 1,250 cubic hm3.

36 CONFLICTS

37 The Barcelona water war ( ) Between 1987 and 1993, average prices for domestic uses in BMA rose from 0.59 to 1.23 euros/cubic meter (an increase of 108%). In 1991 the Catalan government raised substantially the water bill adding new taxes to pay for wastewater treatment plants required by the European Wastewater Directive Neighborhood community groups in the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona stopped paying the tax part of the water bill in protest for the raise.

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39 The Barcelona water war ( ) Main reasons for the revolt: In Barcelona, taxes for domestic water where higher than in other cities of Spain, and they were four times comparatively higher than those charged in the industrial sector Moreover, it was reported that golf courses remained exempt of the hydraulic tax during the period The area potentially affected by the tax revolt covered a total of 23 municipalities and a total population of 2.6 million people. A At the end of the 1990s more than 80,000 families objected to the payment of taxes. The disproportionate fraction of cost of environmental modernization by the lower income segments of the metropolitan population

40 The Geography of the Barcelona Water War

41 The struggle against the Ebro water transfer (2001) National Water Plan of 2001: Ebro water transfer to Catalonia, and to Valencia, Murcia and Almeria Opposition of donor regions (Aragon+southern Catalonia) Arguments - Deepening uneven development between inland Spain and the coastal areas - Impacts on the Ebro delta - Need of a new water culture not based on big projects

42 T H E P R O J E C T E D E B R O W A T E R T R A N S F E R ( ) F i n a l p r o p o s a l P R O J E C T E D T R A N S F E R 2 % A q u e d u c t A l t e r n a t i v e s o l u t i o n s 1 1 % T u n n e l 3 6 % C a n a l 5 1 % P i p e C a n a l s k m T u n n e l s 9 6 k m P i p e s k m S i p h o n s 8 3 k m A q u e d u c t s 1 2 k m R e s e r v o i r s ( s m a l l s ) 2 1 k m R e s e r v o i r s ( l a r g e ) 1 k m C o s t ( e u r o s ) m i l i o n s E m b a s s a m e n t d e T o u s A l c o r a C a s t e l l ó d e l a P l a n a V a l è n c i a C a p t a c i ó d e X e r t a T o r t o s a C a p t a c i ó d e C a m p - r e d ó A m p o s t a m R e u s P l a n t a d e t r a c t a m e n t d 'A b r e r a V i l a f r a n c a B a r c e l o n a d e l P e n e d é s T a r r a g o n a E l V e n d r e l l N O R T H E R N S E C T I O N T o r t o s a S e r r a P e d r e g o s a A b r e r a k m T r a n s v a s a m e n t T a j o - S e g u r a Y e c l a V i l l e n a E m b a s s a m e n t d e T a l a v e J u m i l l a C i e z a E m b a s s a m e n t d ' A z o r í n ( n o u ) A l a c a n t E l x V O L U M E O F W A T E R T R A N S F E R E D A N D D I S T A N C E S B a z a a n z o r a N í j a r A g u a d u l c e A l m e r i a L o r c a M u l a A l h a m a d e M ú r c i a V e n t a d e l P o b r e O j ó s T o t a n a T ú n e l d e l S a l t a d o r E m b a s s a m e n t d e C u e v a s d e A l m a n z o r a S o r b a s M ú r c i a C a r t a g e n a B a r c e l o n a h m 3, ( k m ) J u c a r h m 3, ( k m ) D i s t a n c e S e g u r a h m 3 ( k m ) A l m e r i a, 9 5 h m 3 ( k m ) m S O U T H E R N S E C T I O N T o r t o s a R i u M i j a r e s R i u T ú r i a V i l l e n a A g u a d u l c e k m

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45 (ALTERNATIVE) SOLUTIONS

46 Wastewater plant of El Prat de Llobregat Year of construction: 2002 (2006) Type of treatment: Biological with N and P removal Capacity: m3 daily (population equivalent of )

47 Wastewater treated: 700 Hm3/year Treated wastewater reused: 30% (2015)

48 Flood retention areas in Barcelona

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50 WATER SAVINGS AT HOME: TECHNOLOGIES AND SYSTEMS For Flats For condominiums and houses TECHNOLOGY Indoor consumption Taps Taps with flow regulators Showers Thermostatic tap+ flow regulator WC s Dual flushing systems Maximum potential savings 50%* 50%* 30%* TECHNOLOGY Indoor consumption Same as in flats Outdoor consumption A) B) Maximum potential savings C) Use of efficient irrigation systems 20-40% 4-10 % *Ecoaigua I Departament de Medi Ambient i Habitatge

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52 Example: GREYWATER REUSE Greywater is low polluted water which includes all the wastewater produced in a household with the exception of the wastewater from toilet flushing After treatment, greywater may be reused on site Uses given to greywater: toilet flushing, garden watering and laundry

53 RAINWATER HARVESTING Collection of rainwater runoff generated from an impermeable surface and its storage for later use Components of the system: catchments area, gutters, storage tank Rural rainwater harvesting systems Urban rainwater harvesting systems

54 Water Savings Ordinance of Sant Cugat del Vallès In operation since 15 november 2002 For residential uses especially For new buildings and large renovations Mandatory installation of Condicionat Tot edifici Pressure regulators in taps Air flows in showers Dual flushing systems in toilets Timers (public buildings) Rain water deposits (gardens > m 2 ) Pool water re-use (gardens>40m 2 ) Grey water use systems (> 8 housing units)

55 CONCLUSIONS

56 Which way ahead? Drought and scarcity conditions have become a normal state of affairs for Barcelona during the last decade. Despite favorable conditions (high density urbanism, metering, high prices and sound conservation attitudes) water demand will continue to grow in the future Last episode ( ) ended with desalinization as the main alternative together with water conservation and water re-use as important management options as well End of large scale water transfers? What will happen with the Rhone project now that Suez Environnemenent controls water supply in Barcelona? Interesting debate with important implications for sustainability: large scale centralized systems for wastewater and rainwater or small scale decentralized systems at the scale of the household coupled with domestic technologies for saving water? (as in the energy field)?