Sunday, November 09, 2008

We still need more water

Following the recent torrential rain and floods when the fire service was called out numerous times to rescue people because of the adverse weather in the region we could be forgiven for thinking that we now have sufficient water. After all, over 60 litres of water per square metre, per hour, hit this part of Spain – three ferries carrying more than 400 people could not even dock at Valencia because of the conditions.

It rained hard but not for long. In the past the rains were not as heavy but were more prolonged. The heavy deluges we have experienced this year provide little benefit to the farmers in fact they have caused an incredible amount of erosion.

Set to get hotter and drier

Over the last hundred years the average temperature in Spain has risen by 1.5 degrees – compare that to the world average of just 0.6 degrees – and it is estimates that over the next 75 years the province of Alicante will lose at least 20% of its water resources. This could mean that as the southern Spanish population rises; the whole area will have a serious drinking water problem in just a few decades time.

Because of Spain’s location on the planet, it is more susceptible to climate change than many other countries. It is predicted that by 2020, the average temperature will have increased by 2.5 degrees C. By the end of the century, the prediction is that Spain will be 7 degrees hotter in the summer and 4 degrees in the winter. What this means is less rain and less often – in fact by 2050 it is estimated that there will be a quarter of the amount of rain that we have now - and, at present, there is not enough rain for the country.

The problems for this year began in the spring when Barcelona was so short of water that it had to import water, by tanker, from France while the Spanish regions argue with each other about supplies the politicians have their own ideas.

On the left, the Government (PSOE) believe the answer is to add to the 900 desalination plants that already exist – Spain has more of these than any other country outside of the Middle East.

On the right, the Popular Party, propose that water is diverted from ‘abundant’ areas, such as Aragon, where the River Ebro regularly floods its banks, to the areas in need which are mainly alongside the Mediterranean.

What it means to us

Nobody has a ‘solution’ as yet, if indeed there is one, but saving water is soon to be (if not already) incredibly important, and perhaps the one good thing to come out of the current state of the planet is that school children in Spain have become some of the most environmentally aware kids in Europe.

It isn't just the children though who need to show this level of awareness. We all need to be more conscious of the amount of water that we consume.

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