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Water

Is Spain's Drought a Glimpse of Our Future?

By Elizabeth Nash, Independent UK. Posted May 28, 2008.


Barcelona is in the grip of a water crisis on a scale never seen before in modern-day Europe and now has to import water from France.
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Barcelona is a dry city. It is dry in a way that two days of showers can do nothing to alleviate. The Catalan capital's weather can change from one day to the next, but its climate, like that of the whole Mediterranean region, is inexorably warming up and drying out. And in the process this most modern of cities is living through a crisis that offers a disturbing glimpse of metropolitan futures everywhere.

Its fountains and beach showers are dry, its ornamental lakes and private swimming pools drained and hosepipes banned. Children are now being taught how to save water as part of their school day. This iconic, avant-garde city is in the grip of the worst drought since records began and is bringing the climate crisis that has blighted cities in Australia and throughout the Third World to Europe. A resource that most Europeans have grown up taking for granted now dominates conversation. Nearly half of Catalans say water is the region's main problem, more worrying than terrorism, economic slowdown or even the populists' favourite -- immigration.

The political battles now breaking out here could be a foretaste of the water wars that scientists and policymakers have warned us will be commonplace in the coming decades. The emergency water-saving measures Barcelona adopted after winter rains failed for a second year running have not been enough. The city has had to set up a "water bridge" and is shipping in water for the first time in the history of this great maritime city.

A tanker from Marseilles with 36 million litres of drinking water unloaded its first cargo this week, one of a mini-fleet contracted to bring water from the Rhone every few days for at least the next three months. So humbled was Barcelona when prolonged drought forced it to ship in domestic water from Tarragona, 50 miles south along the Catalan coast, 12 days ago, that city hall almost delayed shipment and considered an upbeat publicity campaign to lift morale and international prestige.

The whole country is suffering from its worst drought in 40 years and the shipments from Tarragona prompted an outcry from regions who insist they need it more. For now the clashes are being soothed by intervention from Madrid, and plans to ship water from desalination plants in parched Almeria in Andalusia are shelved until October. But there is little indication of a strategy to deal not just with an immediate emergency but an ongoing crisis. Buying water on an epic scale from France has given the controversy an international aspect as French environmentalists question whether such a scarce natural resource should be sold as a commodity to another country.

"It would be a mistake to consider this water bridge between Marseilles and Catalonia as simply an operation of solidarity," said a group of ecologists calling themselves Robin des Bois (Robin Hood). They said the commercial deal struck between private contractors failed to consider the environmental impact on France. The organisation blamed Barcelona's water shortage on "wasted resources and ... lack of foresight by Catalan and Spanish authorities".

What Barcelona authorities are fast discovering is that chronic water shortages are not a problem that money alone can solve.

Its 5.5 million inhabitants need a lot of the stuff: the 20 million litres/20,000 tonnes/five million gallons of water brought from Tarragona on 13 May were enough for barely 180,000 people and were consumed within minutes of being channelled through the city's taps. Wednesday's shipment from Marseilles was bigger, 36 million litres, but similarly short lived.

Barcelona has churned up a whirlpool of controversy over its handling of the water crisis, causing just the spray of negative publicity it hoped to avoid.

Even the arrival of rain has only made things worse. Catalonia's regional environment minister, Francesc Baltasar, rushed to announce last week that the hosepipe ban and swimming pool restrictions imposed in February would be lifted. Tarragona -- whose wells supply shipped-in water -- protested furiously. "Barcelona fills its swimming pools with water from Tarragona," local headlines screamed, and the water authority demanded a halt to pumping Tarragona's water for the Catalan capital.

Jose Montilla, Catalonia's regional prime minister, countermanded Mr Baltasar and insisted water-saving measures remain. "Obviously it makes little sense to lift certain measures when, if it stops raining, we'll have to re-impose them in three weeks' time," he said. But Tarragona re-opened the tap only after Mr Montilla visited, and insisted that "this effort of solidarity will supply only our basic needs".

Barcelona's daily El Periodico called Mr Baltasar's proposal to end unpopular water-saving measures "irresponsible and demagogic", increasing resentments in regions supplying water to Barcelona. The shipments themselves came under fire. Importing water gives the city a "lamentable, depressing image" and spreads "alarmism", Miguel Angel Fraile, secretary of the Catalan Trade Confederation, said.

With reservoirs now filled to 30 per cent, authorities should scrap the plan and ship in water only as a last resort, he said. But reservoirs remain two-thirds empty, half the national average and far lower than usual for May. These are dangerously low in anticipation of another dry summer, raising the ghastly prospect of water rationing -- painful for residents and offputting for summer visitors.


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View:
Village of Sant Roma
Posted by: kamcallen on May 29, 2008 1:11 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Just to get some facts straight. The village of Sant Roma was drained in October 2005 because local authorities were concerned about a certain fish population that could have made the water undrinkable. Therefore, it's not the first time the village has been viewed in the past 40 years. See the Guardian UK 10/25/05.

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Agricultural use apparently needs improving
Posted by: JMO on May 29, 2008 4:25 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I spent several months in Spain during 1999 (mostly in Barcelona). Traveling around the country, I was struck by the lack of contour plowing in hilly terrain. This basic technique has been in use here in the US for many years and helps to preserve topsoil while improving rain retention.

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BioMass plants
Posted by: ambience23 on May 29, 2008 5:00 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Some technologies to produce water and fuel have been around since before the 1980's...in use throughout the Third World are BioMass and BioGas plants...using animal/human wastes to generate energy efficiency in rural areas, and decentralizing access to a power source. In countries ranging from India to Fiji, such plants have been installed.
Ethanol created from sugar cane stalks, and casavas costs less to produce (Brazil, Israel)
and also feed animals, makes paper, etc. Trash is being converted to ethanol in Great Britain.
In Madras (India) a solar powered desalinization plant has been installed (1980)
and solar plants are springing up as need is identified for electricity, again away from cities. Japan has desalinization plants. What is wrong with Spain adapting some of these energy producers...tunnel vision? Or is it political control of resources?
Much info available with a read of Alvin Toffler's Third Wave (1980)and THEN you will be ready for his latest book:Revolutionary Wealth. Prosumers unite!

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PEAK OIL
Posted by: billgee on May 30, 2008 6:45 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Whats Next?

Peak Water

I have learned to live despite the presence of OIL.

I Cant Live without H2O.

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