Water demand management strategies for water-scarce cities: the case of Spain

Tortajada, C. , González-Gómez, F., Biswas, A. K. and Buurman, J. (2019) Water demand management strategies for water-scarce cities: the case of Spain. Sustainable Cities and Society, 45, pp. 649-656. (doi: 10.1016/j.scs.2018.11.044)

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Abstract

This paper provides an overview of pricing and non-pricing measures to reduce domestic water consumption at the household levels in five urban areas in Spain. Analyses are based on questionnaires sent to water utilities that provide water services in the metropolitan areas of Barcelona and Seville, the cities of Malaga and Saragossa and the region of Madrid. Our main contribution is that, compared to studies that are based on estimates of the water demand function, we asked directly the managers of the utilities on the effectiveness of the measures implemented. We found that all areas studied have implemented pricing and non-pricing measures to encourage the efficient use of water and that reduction in per capita water consumption has been the result of periods of drought, accompanied in certain cases by water restrictions and pricing and non-pricing measures. In all five areas studied, the utilities believe that non-pricing measures have had a greater impact on water consumption decisions compared to pricing measures.

Item Type:Articles
Additional Information:This research was funded by the Institute of Water Policy, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore under Grant R-603-000-212-490. Also, this research has been partially supported by the State Research Agency, Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (project reference ECO2017-86822-R) and European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Tortajada, Professor Cecilia and Biswas, Professor Asit K
Authors: Tortajada, C., González-Gómez, F., Biswas, A. K., and Buurman, J.
College/School:College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering
College of Social Sciences > School of Social & Environmental Sustainability
Journal Name:Sustainable Cities and Society
Publisher:Elsevier
ISSN:2210-6707
ISSN (Online):2210-6715
Published Online:06 December 2018

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