Critical review of desalination in Spain: a resource for the future?

Abstract

There have been significant territorial changes in the Spanish Mediterranean in the last few decades because of the important growth of residential tourism functions. The Spanish National Hydrological Plan () and, to a greater extent, the Action for Management and Use of Water Programme () advocated large‐scale desalination of seawater to guarantee a supply for urban, tourism, and even future agricultural demands. The paralysis of urban development planning caused by the financial crisis (2007/08), together with the downward trend in the consumption of drinking water in the last decade, highlighted a capacity to produce desalinated water that was far superior to actual needs. This study reviews the current context in which desalinated water is produced in Spain, weighs up the advantages and disadvantages of this method of water management, and considers the potential role that this non‐conventional source of water could play as a strategic resource in the future. The main findings of the study are that desalination is not a panacea; rather, it should be considered in terms of technological parameters tailored to the circumstances of each geographical and socioeconomic environment.

Challenges and Proposals for Socio-Ecological Sustainability of the Tagus–Segura Aqueduct (Spain) under Climate Change

“…The recipient area, taking in to account the total capacity of production in the main seven desalination plants (350 hm 3 /year), has never reached this volume due to the high price of water, the high cost of energy, and because the irrigators cannot pay for it [19]. In the words of Swyngedouw and Williams [49], desalination looks set to become the great solution, although at the moment it is economically more expensive and unfeasible for agricultural use unless a political price is applied.…”

“…At present this is an unfeasible solution, even though desalination is a strategic resource for circumstantial alleviation of the decrease of other resources (as has occurred with the river Taibilla, a tributary of the Segura) or with the TSA. It cannot be considered as a substitute resource in the long-term, owing to the price (0.09 € compared to 0.60-1 €, respectively) and to energy consumption (1.11 kWh compared to 4.50 kWh, respectively) [19].…”

“…As argued by Morote et al [19], desalination and water-transfer schemes are not panaceas in themselves; rather, they should be considered in terms of technological parameters tailored to the circumstances of each geographical and socio-economic environment. In the words of these authors, desalination presents a number of drawbacks that must be taken into account.…”

“…IBWT inevitably involves the redistribution of water resources in relevant basins and may cause changes to the ecological environment in different basins [19]. Zhuang [17] explained that IBWT implied negative impacts such as salinization and the aridification of donor basins, damage to the ecological environment of the donor basins and both sides of the conveying channel system, an increase in water consumption in the recipient basins, and the spread of diseases, etc.…”

Experiencia didáctica en postgrado sobre la interpretación de los riesgos naturales y el cambio climático. Ejemplos de estudios de caso en la provincia de Alicante (España)

“…Por su parte, Vargas y Paneque (2018) argumentan que las sequías pueden producir (o no) situaciones de insuficiencia en los suministros de agua. Esto dependerá fundamentalmente del nivel de demanda y de las características de los sistemas de gestión y explotación y el acceso a la disponibilidad de recursos de agua no convencionales como es la desalinización (Morote, Rico y Moltó, 2017 en clase especial atención a que los alumnos/as tengan claro que la severidad de una sequía es compleja de determinar ya que no depende sólo de su duración, intensidad o extensión geográfica, sino también de las condiciones de la sociedad que recibe sus impactos, que a su vez, dependen principalmente de la vulnerabilidad que presenta una determinada sociedad (Kallis, 2008) y de las características de ésta para adaptarse y hacer frente a este fenómeno (Vargas y Paneque, 2017). En relación con los cursos fluviales, el ejemplo que se expone es el caso concreto del sangrado que ha sufrido el río Monnegre (Foia de Castalla y l'Alacantí -provincia de Alicante).…”