Current Status of Water Supply in Barcelona
The Drought in Catalonia
Catalonia, the region to which Barcelona is the capitol of, is very susceptible to drought due to the irregularity of the rainfall. Catalonia has faced multiple droughts in the past.The latest significant drought affecting Catalonia, and in extension Barcelona, started in November 2004 and continued up until April 2008 [1]. Despite the drought lasting for 42 months, most of the economical damage was done between year 2007 and 2008 when water supply became a significant problem.
Climate changes also play a huge role in the cases of drought. For the past thirty years, temperature in Catalonia has been increasing 0.15 degree C every ten years. Sources have predicted that average rainfall would decrease from 5 percent to 15 percent in the long term- roughly from 2040 to 2100 [1]. This indicates that severe and long lasting measures need to be taken in order to prevent future droughts from destroying the economy and livelihood of Barcelona. On the other hand, rainfall is expected to increase in the short term- roughly from 2011-2040. The drought problem will be solved temporarily.
Catalonia, the region to which Barcelona is the capitol of, is very susceptible to drought due to the irregularity of the rainfall. Catalonia has faced multiple droughts in the past.The latest significant drought affecting Catalonia, and in extension Barcelona, started in November 2004 and continued up until April 2008 [1]. Despite the drought lasting for 42 months, most of the economical damage was done between year 2007 and 2008 when water supply became a significant problem.
Climate changes also play a huge role in the cases of drought. For the past thirty years, temperature in Catalonia has been increasing 0.15 degree C every ten years. Sources have predicted that average rainfall would decrease from 5 percent to 15 percent in the long term- roughly from 2040 to 2100 [1]. This indicates that severe and long lasting measures need to be taken in order to prevent future droughts from destroying the economy and livelihood of Barcelona. On the other hand, rainfall is expected to increase in the short term- roughly from 2011-2040. The drought problem will be solved temporarily.
Focus on Barcelona
Barcelona is heavily dependent on the headwaters from the rivers Llobregat, North of Barcelona, and Ter, in Girona. As a result, when the precipitation levels dropped, 5.5 million people of Barcelona were affected. This level of drought is said to be one of the worst droughts Barcelona has faced in centuries [1]. The precipitation levels in Llobregat have been an all time low during the 2007-8 as seen in Figure 2. This information is significant since it reveals just how damaging the drought was to Barcelona.
Barcelona is heavily dependent on the headwaters from the rivers Llobregat, North of Barcelona, and Ter, in Girona. As a result, when the precipitation levels dropped, 5.5 million people of Barcelona were affected. This level of drought is said to be one of the worst droughts Barcelona has faced in centuries [1]. The precipitation levels in Llobregat have been an all time low during the 2007-8 as seen in Figure 2. This information is significant since it reveals just how damaging the drought was to Barcelona.
Strategies to Face the Drought
Several laws were put forth to fight the damage the drought was causing on the lives of Catalonians. Two of the major ones were the Decree 84/2007 and Decree 3/2008.
DECREE 84/2007
This decree passed by the Regional Government of Catalonia on 3rd April of 2007, dealt with the proportioning of water resources. The purpose of this decree was to come up with a general plan regarding water usage that the whole region of Catalonia could follow. The Decree establishes four different stages of water scarcity and provides plan of action that needs to be taken for each level of scarcity [2]. The four levels were: Pre-Alert, Exceptional Status-1, Exceptional Status-2 and Emergency
Ultimately, this decree wanted to prevent the Emergency state from taking place- it aimed at preventing the cut off of household supply of water. This decree was later repealed in January 2009, after precipitation levels rose back up in the mid 2008 and the danger of cutting water supply off for public consumption subsided.
DECREE 3/2008
This decree passed by the National Spain Government on 21st April of 2008, guaranteed water supply for the population that was affected by the drought in Barcelona. This decree had juggled with two options: transfer water from Ebro River in Tarragona province into the Ter-Llobregat System, have the irrigators of the Ebro River Basin relinquish their rights over the water on Ebro, so that it can be distributed in Barcelona without proportioning. The second option caused political, social and media outrage from the irrigators of the Ebro River who refused to sign over their rights to the government. They protested by stating that the National Government favored Barcelona over Tarragona and therefore failed to understand the difficulties that Tarragona would have to go through if their rights to the Ebro River were relinquished. However, after much negotiation, the irrigators of the Ebro River promised to come up with plans that promoted water conservation so that they could provide water for Barcelona.
This decree in itself was an unusual decree since it depended heavily on the drought coming to an end or for the desalination plants, plants that purify sea salt water into consumable water, to come into existence. As a result, when rainfall reached its normal levels in April of 2008, the National Government declared the end of the drought session and this decree was never implanted.[3]
Desalination Plants
During 2008, precipitation levels reached an all time low and the government had to declare an emergency. On top of restriction against using water for pools and regular irrigation, the government had to bring in water by boat from Tarragona. However, these methods proved to be very expensive for such short-term solution. In order to save money and come up with a long lasting plan, the government looked into seawater reverse osmosis desalination plant. The plant was to provide 52.8 million gallons per day and would provide water for roughly twenty percent of the population in Barcelona [4]. Initially, the existence of the desalination plant was a huge concern among environmentalists but after intensive amount of research, the plan was forth into motion.
During 2008, precipitation levels reached an all time low and the government had to declare an emergency. On top of restriction against using water for pools and regular irrigation, the government had to bring in water by boat from Tarragona. However, these methods proved to be very expensive for such short-term solution. In order to save money and come up with a long lasting plan, the government looked into seawater reverse osmosis desalination plant. The plant was to provide 52.8 million gallons per day and would provide water for roughly twenty percent of the population in Barcelona [4]. Initially, the existence of the desalination plant was a huge concern among environmentalists but after intensive amount of research, the plan was forth into motion.
Cost of Drought
Once the precipitation levels rose in mid April of 2008, most of the drought measures that were taken were slowly abandoned. The rains filled up 80-90% of the reservoir and therefore signaled the end of the emergency situation. However, the rain also left 230 million Euro (around 260 million dollars) worth of desalination plant useless and idle. Over all, the drought cost an estimated total of 490 Euros (510 million dollars). The lack of immediate fast term solutions, like desalination plants, proved to be very expensive for the Catalonian government. The presence of desalination plant was not able to alleviate the drought to its fullest potential due to its time of activation. If the plant was built during 2006, then Catalonia could have saved a lot of money. [4]
References
[1] Markandya, A., & Ortega, J. (2009, November 1). The Cost of the Drought: Exceptional 2007-2008 Case of Barcelona. Retrieved February 16, 2015, from http://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/6294119.pdf
[2] Zimmermann, K., & Balbo, A. (2012). Water Crisis: Public Management of a Critical Situation. In Resilient cities 2 cities and adaptation to climate change, proceedings of the Global Forum 2011 (pp. 65-72). Dordrecht, Bonn: Springer.
[3] Maestu, J. (2013). Legal Reforms That Facilitate Trading of Water Rights in Spain. In Water trading and global water scarcity: International experiences (pp. 282-283). Abingdon, Oxon: RFF Press.
[4] Barcelona (Llobregat) Desalination Plant. (n.d.). Retrieved February 23, 2015, from http://www.energyrecovery.com/barcelona-llobregat-desalination-plant
Media
[1] Catalonia's location [Article]. Retrieved from http://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/6294119.pdf
[2] Precipitation levels in Llobregat River [Book]. Retrieved from Water Crisis: Public Management of a Critical Situation.
[3] The four levels stated in the decree [Book]. Retrieved from Water Crisis: Public Management of a Critical Situation.
[4] Overview of the journey of water in the desalination plant [Web Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.circleofblue.org/waternews/2009/world/drinking-from-the-sea-demand-for-desalination-plants-increases-worldwide/
[1] Markandya, A., & Ortega, J. (2009, November 1). The Cost of the Drought: Exceptional 2007-2008 Case of Barcelona. Retrieved February 16, 2015, from http://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/6294119.pdf
[2] Zimmermann, K., & Balbo, A. (2012). Water Crisis: Public Management of a Critical Situation. In Resilient cities 2 cities and adaptation to climate change, proceedings of the Global Forum 2011 (pp. 65-72). Dordrecht, Bonn: Springer.
[3] Maestu, J. (2013). Legal Reforms That Facilitate Trading of Water Rights in Spain. In Water trading and global water scarcity: International experiences (pp. 282-283). Abingdon, Oxon: RFF Press.
[4] Barcelona (Llobregat) Desalination Plant. (n.d.). Retrieved February 23, 2015, from http://www.energyrecovery.com/barcelona-llobregat-desalination-plant
Media
[1] Catalonia's location [Article]. Retrieved from http://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/6294119.pdf
[2] Precipitation levels in Llobregat River [Book]. Retrieved from Water Crisis: Public Management of a Critical Situation.
[3] The four levels stated in the decree [Book]. Retrieved from Water Crisis: Public Management of a Critical Situation.
[4] Overview of the journey of water in the desalination plant [Web Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.circleofblue.org/waternews/2009/world/drinking-from-the-sea-demand-for-desalination-plants-increases-worldwide/