Spain’s Water Policies: Industrial Desalination as a Tool to Counteract Water Deficit

Filippo Verre - August 2, 2022

* L’immagine di copertina di questo report è stata presa dal sito Fundación Aquae, consultabile al seguente link: https://www.fundacionaquae.org/historia-de-la-desalinizacion-del-agua/

The demographic future of the earth represents an epochal challenge in terms of water resource management. The constant growth of the world population, combined with the progressive mass urbanization that is already occurring in many areas of the globe, will lead to enormous problems related to water stress and the environmental sustainability of entire areas. The dizzying increase in the number of human beings will increase the demand for water both to meet primary needs and in agricultural terms. In fact, to feed more people, food production will inevitably have to be increased, with consequent increases in the demand for water for irrigation purposes. Exploiting aquifers on a massive scale, as has been done so far in many nations, could be expensive in the long term. In fact, underground water is not infinite. Large underground water deposits could run out, especially if the demand for water is destined to increase (as mentioned) constantly year after year. Water resources, therefore, which are already subjected to various levels of stress in terms of supply, will be the subject of further interest in order to face the great challenges that global population growth will bring in the coming years.

Climate Change (CC) has already caused a surge in demand for water in many countries, often even in areas traditionally free from problems related to the lack of blue gold. Drought, increasing desertification, scarcity of atmospheric precipitation and severe heat waves are just some of the causes that currently have a massive impact on the demand for water. In recent years, even Italy, historically not affected by phenomena related to water crises, has begun to deal with a very complicated climatic reality. In these last few weeks, the Belpaese has found itself managing a very serious situation due to a severe drought that has caused very serious inconvenience to many citizens, as well as to the national agricultural and industrial sectors. The lack of snow and rain in the winter, together with the great heat that arrived already in the first days of May, has laid the foundations for a serious water crisis that, at the time of writing, shows no signs of abating[1].

Therefore, at the water level the “present” is already complex, mostly due to the known environmental reasons; as regards the “near future”, the expected dizzying increase in demand for water due to demographic causes will subject the sources of supply in many areas of the world to further stress. What can be done to reduce the aforementioned water stress that will only increase in the coming years? Is it possible to reduce the demand for water for agricultural purposes already today? Are there strategies capable of making structural changes to the consumption of fresh water without affecting the aquifers that, presumably, will reduce constantly? Providing answers to these questions is not easy. In fact, there is no single measure capable of simultaneously providing relief to the already tested water sources and ensuring that they guarantee the production of water necessary to deal with environmental crises. Nonetheless, already today we can identify interesting solutions capable of, at least, providing large quantities of water for agricultural purposes without drying up the water table. The increase in food resources through the cultivation of fields will be the basis of correct social management in many areas of the world. At this time, a valid tool that allows us to produce a lot of water resources without affecting underground reserves is desalination. This ancient process of obtaining fresh water through the treatment of sea water is nowadays widely used in various industrialized nations of the world. In this report we will focus on the water policies of Spain, the main European country to use desalination plants to deal with recurring water crises. Madrid is today the fourth largest producer of fresh water in the world through desalination processes. This is a truly remarkable result, the result of far-sighted industrial planning that, starting in the 1960s, has provided Spain with a large and efficient desalination sector.

Water stress. The global challenge of the coming years

According to data provided by YouTrend, the world population today is 7.9 billion people. It took tens of thousands of years to reach one billion people and only two hundred years to go from 1 to almost 8 billion[2]. In essence, therefore, over the last 200 years the world population has increased by 800%. Astonishing numbers that certify the progress of the human species in many fields, above all health. 

Graf. 1: Proiezioni della crescita della popolazione mondiale tra il 1700 e il 2100
https://ourworldindata.org

With improved health conditions and, above all, the decline in infant mortality, the situation has changed rapidly. Over the past hundred years, the world population has more than quadrupled and has done so at an ever-increasing rate, reaching a peak growth rate of 2.1% in 1968. Today, the population is growing by an average of 1% per year; although slower than a few decades ago, it is still a rapid and significant growth rate. Currently, 140 million people are born each year and 60 million die, for an increase of approximately 80 million individuals per year.

Predictably, the massive growth in the number of people in the coming decades will lead to the many problems related to water stress mentioned above. The latter, quite presumably, will only increase in the future, to the point of affecting almost all nations experiencing significant population growth. It is important to point out that population growth will not be the only factor responsible, even if it is the main one, for the increase in global water stress. A significant impact will also be played by the lifestyle that future societies will adopt. Already today, many nations consume many more resources – especially water – than they actually need. As can be seen from Graph 2, many countries lead a lifestyle well above what is “naturally” allowed.

Graf. 2: Classifica globale degli stili di vita più inquinanti per nazione
https://www.overshootday.org/how-many-earths-or-countries-do-we-need/

Italy is also present in the not very authoritative ranking that lists the nations with the least respectful lifestyle towards the environment on a global level. Positioning itself in tenth place, Rome confirms a trend that sees Western countries as protagonists, whose extremely wasteful approach in terms of resources constitutes a serious threat in the long term to the environmental stability of the entire planet. Inevitably, the supply of water, both qualitatively and quantitatively, is at the centre of the issue relating to the massive waste of resources that already today constitutes a problem that is difficult to resolve. At the time of writing, over 25% of the world's population lives in areas with extremely high water stress. This data is the snapshot taken from the latest update of the Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas, the map that correlates the availability of water in 189 nations with respect to the communities that inhabit them, drawn up by the World Resources Institute (WRI)[3]. In total, there are 17 countries most at risk of experiencing the so-called “Day Zero” in the near future, the date on which all seasonal water resources are exhausted and taps (from domestic to industrial) run dry. Specifically: Qatar, Israel, Lebanon, Iran, Jordan, Libya, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Eritrea, United Arab Emirates, San Marino, Bahrain, India, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Oman and Botswana. According to WRI, all these nations use on average more than 80% of their annual water availability and are therefore increasingly exposed to risks caused by climate change, poor water management, pollution and extreme weather events (droughts or floods).

Fig. 1: Le zone del mondo maggiormente sottoposte a stress idrico
https://www.labroots.com/trending/earth-and-the-environment/15415/17-countries-extremely-high-water-stress

Fig. 2: Stress idrico in Europa, Nord Africa e Medio Oriente
https://thecityfix.com/blog/17-countries-home-one-quarter-worlds-population-face-extremely-high-water-stress-rutger-willem-hofste-paul-reig-leah-schleifer/

Spanish water policies on desalination

As previously highlighted, the demand for water for irrigation purposes is set to skyrocket in the near future. Presumably, the increased number of people – due to global population growth – will be associated with a consequent increase in the demand for water resources. While waiting to find alternative solutions, it is already possible today to literally produce fresh water through desalination, or by separating the saline component from sea water. In this way, through a series of scientific processes and with the help of adequate energy, large quantities of water resources can be generated by drawing water from an almost inexhaustible source: the sea. Many countries have decided to rely on this technology over the years, especially to support the national agricultural sector. In the past, at AB AQUA we have dealt in detail with the water policies of Saudi Arabia, an important Arab nation that has already been using industrial desalination plants extensively for a long time. Today, thanks to an impressive industrial policy focused on desalination, Riyadh exports many agricultural products to Africa and Asia, in addition to producing hundreds of tons of food for domestic consumption. As analyzed in our report some time ago, the Kingdom of Saud will experience significant population growth in the near future, in line with the global trend we have just examined. To cope with the increase in population, which currently numbers 34 million individuals and will settle over the next decades at around 77 million, the Saudis have considered desalination to be an essential measure to guarantee abundant and constant water resources.

In Europe, the main country producing desalinated water is Spain. With 765 active desalination plants, Madrid is a true "water power". The Iberian country currently produces around 5,000,000 m³/day of desalinated water for supply, irrigation and industrial use. These are very significant numbers that certify the great effort made by Spain over the years to reach a truly remarkable fresh water production capacity. In all honesty, if we analyze the atmospheric and climatic data of the Iberian Peninsula, we cannot help but notice how Madrid's choice to rely on desalination was almost forced.

Fig. 3: Le più alte temperature estive in varie parti del mondo, tra cui spicca Siviglia, capitale dell’Andalusia (luglio 2022)
https://mapsontheweb.zoom-maps.com/post/689917782796664832/in-summer-2022-heatwaves-around-the-world-felled

The southern part of Spain has entire semi-arid zones, where, especially in the summer, the intense heat further oppresses the communities living there. The presence of watercourses of considerable size, such as the Guadalquivir, is not sufficient to guarantee a satisfactory water supply for irrigation and industrial purposes. Despite being over 700 km long and with a drainage basin of almost 60,000 km², this historic river is not enough to irrigate the numerous Andalusian provinces with the precious liquid. In addition to this, it should be considered that in many areas of the Balearics and the Canaries the water supply has always been characterised by considerable difficulties, as happens in almost all small and medium-sized islands[4]. In essence, therefore, in various areas placed under Spanish jurisdiction in the past numerous problems attributable to water stress have already been encountered. To face the considerable difficulties linked to the lack of water the Spanish decided to focus on the sea. In 1964, during the Franco dictatorship (October 1936 – November 1975), the first desalination plant was installed in Lanzarote, the most north-eastern island of the Canary Islands. At that time, the plant was capable of producing 2,500 m³/day of desalinated water. Compared to current facilities, whose modern technology allows for the generation of very high quantities of fresh water, the Lanzarote desalination plant is not particularly powerful. However, the plant in question represented the beginning of an industrial process that, in the space of a few decades, allowed Spain to significantly increase its water resources from the sea.

Fig. 4: Impianto di desalinizzazione di Lanzarote, Isole Canarie, 1964
https://www.elagoradiario.com/agua/el-exito-de-la-desalacion-de-agua-requiere-mas-energias-renovables/

Of the 765 desalination plants managed by the Spanish authorities, 327 are located in the Canary Islands: 281 in the province of Las Palmas and 46 in the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Almost half of the desalination plants managed by Madrid are located in the Atlantic archipelago; this is due to the chronic lack of water to which the Canary Islands are subjected. The remaining plants are mostly located in the Balearic archipelago and on the long eastern Mediterranean coastal strip.

Fig. 5: Distribuzione degli impianti di desalinizzazione in Spagna
https://www.fundacionaquae.org/wiki/plantas-desaladoras-en-espana/

The choice of these three destination areas soon proved to be very advantageous. The increased water resources thanks to desalination plants have brought undoubted benefits that can be assessed under various profiles. First of all, a greater quantity of water available to the communities involved has reduced the risk of water stress. Furthermore, the precious blue gold provided through desalination techniques has allowed irrigation and industrial activities of a certain importance in territories where, previously, there was difficulty in finding water for primary needs. Thirdly, thanks to the abundant water resources, it has been possible to build over time a top-level hospitality and tourism sector. It is no coincidence that, currently, both the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands are among the most popular Spanish destinations for international tourism, with millions of visits per year. In essence, the increased availability of water obtained thanks to the widespread use of desalination plants has laid the foundations for non-emergency environmental management and for a real economic revival due to the powerful growth of the industrial and tourism sectors. This is because water, in addition to being an essential element for human life, is also a very important resource in economic and productive terms. Agriculture, industry, tourism, catering and many other activities thrive in a scenario where water resources are abundant. Conversely, in the event of scarcity, in addition to environmental problems related to water stress and supply difficulties, activities struggle to find a competitive and profitable level of productivity.

The production of desalinated water in Spain, which, as mentioned, is the fourth in the world, is carried out through so-called large capacity, medium capacity and small capacity plants. The first are massive structures, capable of generating between 10,000 and 250,000 m³ of water per day. Of the total 765 desalination plants, 99 are large-capacity. These include plants of high national strategic value, given the number of people who use them and the large number of agricultural and industrial companies that use the water produced. To name the most important plants, we highlight:

• Torrevieja (Alicante). It produces 80 hm³ (cubic hectometers) per year, and is the largest desalination plant in Spain. It contributes to the supply of 140,000 inhabitants and the irrigation of approximately 8,000 hectares.

• Atabal (Malaga). It produces 76 hm³/year. It is the second desalination plant in Spain capable of producing desalinated water of excellent quality.

• Valdelentisco (Murcia). With a production capacity of up to 70 hm³/year, it is the third largest power plant in Spain. Through its production, 7,577 hectares of irrigated land provide food for more than 60,000 people.

• Carboneras (Almería). It produces 42 hm³/year. It benefits around 200,000 people and guarantees water to one of the driest provinces in Spain, ensuring the irrigation of more than 7,000 hectares.

• Campo de Dalias (Almería). It produces 30.1 hm³/year. It guarantees a constant water supply to more than 300,000 inhabitants.

• Da Bajo Almanzora (Almería). It produces 15 hm³/year. It guarantees water to 140,000 inhabitants and provides irrigation for more than 24,000 hectares of land.

As for medium capacity plants, capable of producing between 500 and 10,000 m³ of water per day, Spain has 450 of them. They are mostly found on the islands, as are the small capacity plants, which generate quantities of less than 500 m³ of water per day. Of these, Madrid has 216.

Fig. 6: Impianto di desalinizzazione di Torrevieja (Alicante), il primo per capacità in Spagna
https://www.tecnoaqua.es/noticias/20190405/acuamed-desaladora-torrevieja-amplia-capacidad-produccion

Fig. 7: Impianto di desalinizzazione di Atabal (Malaga), il secondo per capacità in Spagna
https://www.tecnoaqua.es/noticias/20190405/acuamed-desaladora-torrevieja-amplia-capacidad-produccion

Fig. 8: Impianto di desalinizzazione di Valdelentisco (Murcia), il terzo per capacità in Spagna
https://en.nicelocal.es/cartagena/shops/acuamed_-_planta_desaladora_de_valdelentisco/

Conclusion

As explained in this report, the difficult climate situation of recent years, the expensive lifestyle of many Western nations and the future global population growth are factors that will have an extremely negative impact on water stress, which is already evident in many areas of the world. Strategies are therefore urgently needed to address the pressing current and future challenges regarding the supply of fresh water. In our opinion, desalination could already represent a tool today that can support governments and communities in the difficult management of increasingly scarce water resources. There are several reasons why we believe that this method can be adopted to produce fresh water. First of all, we already have the technology necessary to generate a lot of water using specific scientific processes. We do not, therefore, have to wait for an ultramodern procedure to be discovered or for complicated engineering techniques to be developed. We are already able to use effective and high-performance desalination plants on a large scale.

Secondly, the environmental impact of desalination is much less invasive today than it was some time ago. As reported in a previous study, with today's techniques we are able to generate large quantities of fresh water with increasingly reduced energy costs and fewer ecological consequences. In the future, among other things, desalination processes are expected to be increasingly less expensive and more respectful of the environment, given the gradual but constant diffusion that this method of water production will have in the global context.

Thirdly, we need to manage the water of the seas and oceans more effectively. The latter are the custodians of over 98% of the water resources present on our planet. The saline component present in the molecules of sea water prevents it from being used for purposes useful to human beings. Nonetheless, in view of an uncertain present and a not rosy future regarding water supply, it seems more inevitable than ever that we begin to use in a wise and sustainable way the immense water resources that our planet makes available to us in the form of salt water.

The case of Spain is very interesting in this respect. A nation that has already experienced several episodes of water stress, large heat waves and droughts in the past has decided to rely on desalination to reduce the risk of supply crises. In Spain, a total of 22,771 million m³ are consumed per year and of these 1,554 are destined for industrial consumption, 17,681 for the agricultural sector and 3,535 for urban supply. As can be seen, the highest figure corresponds to the agricultural sector, which makes it one of the main users of water. In fact, the water used for irrigation purposes weighs heavily on the total balance of the water resource used. It is precisely in this respect that industrial desalination takes over with a decisive supporting role. Through the massive production of fresh water guaranteed by desalination plants, Spain has ensured over time a constant supply of water to be used for agricultural purposes. In this way, during the hottest season the impact of water stress is limited, or at least much smaller than in other countries not equipped with an efficient industrial desalination system like the Iberian one. The production of fresh water from the sea has also ensured that the foundations were laid for a truly significant tourist development in the major Spanish archipelagos. This data allows us to affirm that desalination has greatly favored the economic growth implemented by Madrid in the post-Franco period. In light of what has been analyzed, therefore, it is not wrong to believe that the presence of abundant water resources in a territory favors the communities settled there both in terms of supply and from an economic-productive point of view. If the drought trend of recent years were to continue for Italy, desalination could constitute a valid alternative to deal with the water crisis.

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[1] AB AQUA, in un recente report, ha elaborato cinque strategie per far fronte al difficile momento idrico-climatico che sta attraversando l’Italia. Per una disamina approfondita del report, il cui titolo è La crisi idrica italiana: cause, scenari, soluzioni, si rimanda a questo link: https://abaqua.it/la-crisi-idrica-italiana-cause-scenari-soluzioni%EF%BF%BC/.

[2] https://www.youtrend.it/2022/04/29/il-futuro-della-crescita-della-popolazione-mondiale/.

[3] Per ulteriori dettagli si rimanda a https://www.wri.org.

[4] In merito alla difficoltà di approvvigionamento idrico per le isole si consiglia di prendere visione del nostro paper su Cipro: https://abaqua.it/colonizzazione-idrica-il-caso-di-cipro/.