Water is the key to our existence and until recently most of Europe has been well provided and so water has been a low priority politically. This has changed recently with expanding populations and higher expectations compounded by climate change. It was thus with pleasure and great interest that we welcomed Chris Binnie to guide us through the problems and possible solutions relating to water resources in Europe.
The Binnie connection to water goes back four generations as his great grandfather established the firm Sir Alexander Binnie and Son in the 19th Century, and this firm continued until very recently under the Binnie name. Chris Binnie has had very wide experience worldwide and is former President of the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management and so in many ways eminently suitable to address the subject.
The current exploitation of water resources varies across Europe. In general the Mediterranean countries use more of their resources with Cyprus an extreme case using 60% of its resources. Most countries are in the 10-30% range. It is interesting to note that between 1990 and 2010 the exploitation rates have dropped indicating a growing awareness of the resource constraints. Projecting into the future however shows even with a “sustainable” approach that the Mediterranean countries, notably Spain, southern France, Italy and Greece, will become water stressed. With a “business as usual” approach the situation is very grave in these and other European countries. Globally the situation in some areas is even more dramatic.
The use of water also varies greatly and depends on population and the extent of irrigated agriculture. The water footprint for public water supply, the water used in mm/year, is high in eastern USA, northern Italy and especially in India and China. Demand management is essential to control the public supply. This means leakage control, metering and efficient use with limited wastage. The World Bank has done much useful work on public water supply systems and the leakages. From this it is clear that leakages are not just a Third World problem and that many European countries have very poor and old systems with high leakages which need attention. An index of Infrastructure Leakage shows France and UK at about 2, Italy at 12 and Greece at 14. A simple initial way to reduce these leaks is by reducing the water pressure. An example is given on the Australian Gold Coast where leakages were reduced by 70% by this means.
Most European countries meter the public water supply but in the UK this is not the case with only about a third using meters. UK studies show some 13% reduction in demand with metering and elsewhere a greater reduction is noted (25%). A Danish study shows that a 55% price rise yields 20% demand reduction. Thus metering is a useful means to raise public awareness of the volume used and the price a convenient and effective incentive mechanism. Note that to be effective individual households must be separately metered and not grouped together such as in blocks of flats.
Water efficiency in the public supply needs addressing. Toilets are major users and can be fitted to use much less water. Domestic washing machines also can be made more water efficient and should be well labelled to allow the public to judge this aspect as well as the energy use. The housing stock changes slowly (about 2% a year) and so retrofitting of existing dwellings is important to effect change. Use of grey water, with for instance water butt storage, is to be encouraged although this may be expensive to integrate into existing houses. In Cyprus over 40% of domestic water use is provided by grey water – an excellent example.
Energy production needs much water and in Europe over 40% of abstractions are for energy use, often for thermal cooling of power station cooling, with some of this is not being consumptive use. The energy companies must consider in their operations the impact on water supplies as well as the thermal efficiency of their plants. Industry also has been a great water user in the past but not so much in present day Europe as heavy processing plants have declined in number. An example of good practice was given from Singapore where high water efficiency is required from industry and the actual performance is checked each year to ensure compliance.
Agriculture, especially irrigated agriculture, provides the biggest problem for water supplies in Europe. Overall agriculture accounts for 33% of total usage in Europe, and in places in southern Europe this exceeds 80%. This is especially serious as some 70% of this water abstraction does not return to the water body. The main areas of excessive use are the Mediterranean countries (Spain, Italy, Greece, southern France) and Denmark. It is no coincidence that this irrigation water is usually heavily subsidised.
The European Union’s response has been the Water Framework Directive (WFD) which takes the catchment area as the basic unit and aims for a “good ecological status for all water bodies unless disproportionate costs are involved”. This means reducing abstractions in stressed areas and improving water quality. This is to be achieved notably by controlling discharges from agriculture (e.g. fertilizers, pesticides) and industry. Soil erosion control is also an important issue. Implementation of this directive, scheduled for December 2009, has been disappointing in some countries, notably Spain (with one river basin out of 25 compliant) and also Greece and Belgium.
The intention of the WFD was that water should be correctly priced, with full cost recovery including operating and capital costs as well as the opportunity cost being covered. The final text however was diluted to read “an adequate contribution to recover costs of water services…” At present in the EU public domestic tariffs average about 1 Euro/m3 and irrigation tariffs vary from 0.03 - 0.30 Euro/m3, the latter well below costs. The Directive should be made much more explicit with a requirement for full cost recovery based on volume used.
The water requirement for different agricultural crops is revealing as cereals use less than 2 m3/kg while beef requires about 15 m3/kg. Correct pricing would help optimise the cropping patterns and encourage the relocation of some crops.
The water footprint of a country is not limited to its own borders and the extreme example of Japan, which imports most of its food having notable impacts in USA, China and Australia, illustrates how the water market is a global phenomenon.
Climate change in Europe is noticeable with data over the period 1961 – 2006 yielding annual precipitation generally reducing by between 30 mm – 90 mm per decade. This is particularly so in the Mediterranean and especially in Spain, Italy and Greece. Some parts of mid France have had increases of about 30 mm per decade. Predictions for this century until 2099 show an overall increase in northern Europe (typically by 10%) and a reduction in the southern countries (by 10 – 15%) with more extreme reductions in the Mediterranean zone. This rainfall is obviously reflected in the river flows of major rivers. Overall greater variability is expected with critically reduced flows in the summer months. While this data and the predictions must be treated with some caution, they do show a clear and unfavourable trend, which needs to be recognised.
In view of its key role, irrigation water use efficiency needs to be addressed. More efficient ways of applying water to the crops and the planting of appropriate crops taking into account water availability and costs are well tried remedies but these need to be implemented. An interesting graph based on work in Spain showed gross value added of different crops against the water required. It clearly showed how extensive low value crops such as cereals did not merit expensive irrigated water which should be reserved for higher value crops such as vegetables and greenhouse crops. Again charging users the full cost of water would encourage this process.
A new development is the EU’s emphasis on bio-fuel with a target of 10% use in transport by 2020. This will put greater pressure on agricultural land to the detriment of growing edible crops. EU studies show that in some critical catchments (mainly in southern Europe) to achieve “sustainable ecological river flows” would require a reduction of 50 – 80% of present irrigation abstractions. And to achieve this, tariffs should be increased four-fold (from 0.07 to 0.3 Euro/m3). This certainly presents a political and social challenge.
This European situation and trends are replicated generally worldwide.
As well as trying to control and rationalise demand the supply side needs also to be addressed. Increasing water storage by raising existing dams is a good option and easier than providing new reservoirs as these are generally costly, environmentally intrusive and unpopular. The case of the Kielder reservoir in northern England was cited to illustrate how robust demand estimates are essential for such major projects. In this case, demand was over reliant on the heavy industry in the region which subsequently did not materialise.
Inter-catchment basin transfers are potentially worthwhile as often for low cost they can provide increased supply with a greater security. Numerous schemes are under study in the UK to move water from the wetter west to the dryer and more stressed east of the country. These schemes cut across the UK corporate structure which is by major catchment areas and so requires cooperation between different private water companies.
These UK proposals which have been under review for years may be compared with the North-South Water Conveyor being built in China. This 1000 km long canal costing 50 G USD will convey 50 G m3/annum to the Beijing area from the Yangtze River. It is not clear what environment and economic studies have been carried out prior to the project’s commitment.
Other potential water resources include the re-use of sewage and its introduction back into the potable water cycle. This is a reliable source of supply, being unaffected by drought or climate change, and requires suitable treatment prior to usually mixing with other sources, although this is not always necessary. Direct use in agriculture may be very suitable for example. Desalination of sea water provides a useful resource notably used on islands such as Malta (57% of potable supply) and Cyprus. London also now has a 150,000 m3/day plant. Problems include the high capital and operating costs with much energy required. For the latter reason, desalination, while sometimes appropriate, may well create problems with respect to the EU targets for sustainability.
The lecture was completed by some examples of what not to do. The prime exhibit was the Aral Sea which was some 50 years ago the fourth largest inland water body in the world and now is virtually a desert with some small lakes, mainly at the northern end. The cause of this was Stalin’s grand scheme to grow cotton in the area with water provided by the Karakoum canal with crucially no provision for drainage. Over the years of intensive cropping the land has become saline and the Aral Sea has dried up and the crops have failed. Overall, an environmental and economic disaster of immense impact and scale.
Another example given was the Murray–Darling project in south-east Australia. Here over-abstraction combined with several years of drought have resulted in serious crop failures. The situation is being recovered by using a revised licensing scheme for abstractions which ensures “basic conveyance flow” in the river, being the necessary flow for environmental soundness, and allocates the remaining flow on an annual basis to the farmers. This kind of approach which depends on the hydrological conditions is being considered in the UK.
In conclusion:
The challenge that some 40% of Europe is likely to suffer water stress requires immediate and firm action at every level. Demand continues to grow for this finite resource. Climate change will compound the problem.
The response must be to protect the catchment basins by applying the Water Framework Directive to re-establish or retain water quality. Demand management for the public supply should encourage water efficient methods and equipment, control leakage and require metering with appropriate tariffs. Irrigated agriculture must reduce its abstractions and should apply full cost tariffs on a volume basis. Crop choice should be optimised dependent on water availability and cost.
In parallel, water resources should be developed in an environmentally sound manner with appropriate storage, transfers, re-use and groundwater recharge.
A greater integration of water with energy, agriculture and the environment must be achieved for the benefit of all in the longer term.
The lecture was given at the European Investment Bank on Thursday 25th October 2012 and attended by some 40 professionals, mainly engineers, economists and bankers, who much appreciated the broad scope of presentation combined with the detailed information presented.
Peter Bond CEng, ICE Representative for Luxembourg