Water Demand Management in the City of the Future

SWITCH Training Kit: Pilot Training, Entebbe, 28-29 July 2010

Water Demand Management in the City of the Future

Water Demand Management in Zaragoza

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Zaragoza, SpainMulti-stakeholder Water

Commission

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Zaragoza City Water Supply Water supply is managed by the Municipality

(Infrastructure Dept), not a separate utility Severe drought of 1991-5 in Spain: water rationing Fundación Ecología y Desarrollo (FED), a local

environmental NGO initiated a partnership to trigger changes in water conservation practices

Successful campaigns since 1995 on reducing water consumption by households, businesses and institutions

Hosted EXPO2008 on Water and Sustainable Development

SWITCH City – Demonstration on water demand mgt

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Zaragoza water consumption and population growth, 1980 - 2006

40,0

50,0

60,0

70,0

80,0

90,0

100,019

80

1982

1984

1986

1988

1990

1992

1994

1996

1998

2000

2002

2004

2006

mil

lon

es d

e m

3

300000

350000

400000

450000

500000

550000

600000

650000

700000

hab

itan

tes

Consumo agua Habitantes

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Phase 1 “Zaragoza, the water-saving city” Project (1997 – 1999) - objectives

(i) change of attitude towards water use > behavioural change; (ii) provision of information, education & advisory services, which assist

interested consumers to reduce water use; (iii) replacement of old equipment with new water-saving devices; (iv) acquisition of new water-saving sanitary fittings (e.g. flushing

toilets, taps, showers) and household appliances (e.g. washing machines, dish washers);

(v) the introduction of individual household hot water meters; and (vi) other actions that would save water, such as timely repair of leaks

in the premises, and recycling of domestic water.

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Results of Phase 1 (1997 – 1999)

The number of people aware of the importance of water-saving measures improved from 40% to 72%.

Increase in water saving habits and use of water-saving devices in the households, leading to

o an overall saving of 1.2 billion litres of water, o equivalent to 5.6% of annual domestic consumption.

The water saved was more as a result of behavioural change than adoption of water saving technology

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Phase 2: 50 good practices” (1999-2003) Aim to develop 50 best practices for efficient water use In buildings for public use, 30 good practices achieved, eg

(i) a shopping mall saved 92% water by change in floor cleaning methods;

(ii) a car-washing company saved 75% through water re-use . In parks/gardens sub-sector, 13 good examples established

o mainly through careful consideration of the design of the lawns, selection of the plant species, and water methods.

In industries, huge savings made in at least 9 enterprises o through modification of the production and cooling processes,

including water recycling and reverse osmosis. Practical guidelines for hotels, offices, hospitals, educational

institutions, dry-land gardening , industries(Edo & Soler 2004)

50 good practices - Examples

a shopping mall saved 92% water by change in floor cleaning methods;

a car-washing company saved 75% thro water re-use . design of lawns, selection of plant species, and water

methods in parks and gardens. modification of industrial production and cooling

processes, including water recycling and reverse osmosis.

Practical guidelines for hotels, offices, hospitals, educational institutions, dry-land gardening , industries

(Edo & Soler 2004)

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“Zaragoza water-saving city” Project – Achievements

Strong participationo Many participating households, o >150 organisations, o 90% of media organisations,o 140 wholesalers & retailers of fittings/fixtures, o 83 schools

Overall 14% water savings (1996-2004) o despite a 6.3% increase in population growth

Phase 3 (2003-2005)

FED worked closely with the City Council to institutionalise the water saving measures

Municipal Order to Save Water (Ordanza municipal ahorrar agua) drawn up to be part of the Municipal building Code

Practical guidelines for increasing water efficiency in hotels, offices, hospitals, educational institutions, dry-land gardening, industries

Infrastructure Dept reduced water losses in the distribution network, mainly by replacing aged pipes

Phase 4 (2006 – ongoing) Attention being switched back to the local

community The ‘100,000 commitments’ project phase

aimed at soliciting for commitments from individual consumers (domestic & others)

o Certificates of recognition providedo Recognised during the EXPO2008 on Water and

Sustainable Development Individual consumers facilitated to track

progress in the water saving initiative

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Towards Economic Water Pricing in Zaragoza A study carried out by University of

Zaragoza (1996-1998) found:o Household basic requirement ~ 3.5

m3/montho Personal requirement ~ 2.5 m3/month per

capita New tariff designed to fit these findings

o Based on a household size of 6o Larger families to apply for special rates

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Zaragoza Domestic Tariff (from end 2005)

m3 permonth

Price (€/m3)

0 – 6 0.32

6 – 18.5 0.768

> 18.5 1.536

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Discounts on Domestic Bills for reducing year-on-year consumption

Year No of housesbenefiting from

incentives

2002 1,708

2003 27,741

2004 24,331

2005 27,929

2006 33,274

Conclusion

This is an important case study on demand management and water conservation, in which:

o FED, a non-state organisation successfully spearheaded and mobilised partnerships of various actors to enhance a water-saving culture

o The City Council of Zaragoza provided an enabling environment

o A phased project approach with a range of water demand management activities ensured specific, achievable & time-bound targets which provided sustained motivation for the various partners