Baixa el consum d'aigua i puja el preu per metre cúbic, però... i la factura total?

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Incidental potable water reuse in a Catalonian basin: living downstream

A preliminary assessment of incidental potable water reuse (IPR) in the Llobregat River basin has been conducted by estimating the dilution factor of treated effluent discharges upstream of six river flow measurement sections. IPR in the Llobregat River basin is an everyday occurrence, because of the systematic discharge of treated effluents upstream of river sections used as drinking water sources. Average river flows at the Sant Joan Despí measurement section increased from 400,000 m3/d (2007) to 864,000 m3/d (2008) and to 931,000 m3/d (2013), while treated effluent discharges upstream of that section ranged from 109,000 m3/d to 114,000 m3/d in those years. The highest degree of IPR occurs downstream of the Abrera and Sant Joan Despí flow measurement sections, from where about half of the drinking water supplied to the Barcelona Metropolitan Area is abstracted. Based on average annual flows, the likelihood that drinking water produced from that river stretch contained treated effluent varied from 25% (2007) to 13% (2008) and to 12% (2013). Water agencies and drinking water production utilities have strived for decades to ensure that drinking water production satisfies applicable quality requirements and provides the required public health protection.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Soil aquifer treatment to remove priority organic pollutants in the Llobregat river area

The Llobregat River is the main source of water supply in this area. This river together with its aquifer has suffered from several damages which had contributed to endanger a suitable ecological and hydrological status; among them, pollution is a serious problem to deal with. In the last decades, the presence of organic pollutants in this river has been demonstrated [1,2]. Some of them are persistent to biological degradation and have shown to survive wastewater treatments almost unaltered and therefore they get surface waters where in some cases become recalcitrant pollutants. In order to mitigate the effect and presence of these compounds, Soil Aquifer Treatments (SAT) could be an approach since these treatments have demonstrated to be efficient to remove or decrease concentrations of such contaminants due to physico-chemical and biological processes occurring within the subsoil [3]. In the framework of the LIFE-ENSAT project, an organic substrate layer was installed in the basin of a recharge system located in the upper Llobregat delta aquifer. The aim was to enhance the degradation of contaminants through biochemical reactions on the reductive environment promoted in the unsaturated zone in order to improve the water quality of the system. In this work, the efficiency of this organic layer to remove organic pollutants included in European directives (2000/60/EC-2008/105/EC), such as triazines, pesticides or polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), has been evaluated. More than 80 compounds were analyzed; among them, 27 were priority pollutants while 6 were classified as preference substances (RD 60/2011).Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Post-Franco Theatre

In the multiple realms and layers that comprise the contemporary Spanish theatrical landscape, “crisis” would seem to be the word that most often lingers in the air, as though it were a common mantra, ready to roll off the tongue of so many theatre professionals with such enormous ease, and even enthusiasm, that one is prompted to wonder whether it might indeed be a miracle that the contemporary technological revolution – coupled with perpetual quandaries concerning public and private funding for the arts – had not by now brought an end to the evolution of the oldest of live arts, or, at the very least, an end to drama as we know it

Landscaping of the final stretch of the river Llobregat and its environmental and social recovery

The river Llobregat is a backbone of the metropolitan territory and its area has been strategic for the implementation of large infrastructures, for economic development and for the transformation of nearby urban centres. However, it is also an area with great potential from an ecological and social point of view. Aspects to be highlighted are its contribution to the preservation and improvement of biodiversity and ecological connectivity. It is also important to mention its proximity to a large part of the metropolitan population, turning the river into a new type of local public and natural space.Postprint (published version

La gestión integral del agua en el área metropolitana de Barcelona

Postprint (published version

Agua regenerada para la montaña de Montjuïc en Barcelona

Desde principios de este año, el efluente de la Estación de Regeneración de Aguas (ERA) de El Prat de Llobregat se emplea como un recurso alternativo para el riego de parques, jardines e instalaciones deportivas, el baldeo de calles y la limpieza del alcantarillado en la ciudad de Barcelona. El proyecto Montjuïc ha consistido en la construcción de un sistema de traída y distribución de aguas regeneradas desde la citada ERA hasta la Montaña de Montjuïc. La inversión realizada ha ascendido a 8,1 M€, aportados por las siguientes tres instituciones: Agencia Catalana del Agua (ACA), la Entidad Metropolitana (EMSHTR) y su empresa pública EMSSA, y el Ayuntamiento de Barcelona

La gestión integral del agua en el área metropolitana de Barcelona

Postprint (published version