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Critical review of desalination in Spain: a resource for the future?
Author(s) -
Morote ÁlvaroFrancisco,
Rico AntonioManuel,
Moltó Enrique
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
geographical research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.695
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1745-5871
pISSN - 1745-5863
DOI - 10.1111/1745-5871.12232
Subject(s) - tourism , panacea (medicine) , environmental planning , desalination , context (archaeology) , business , natural resource economics , resource (disambiguation) , water resource management , water resources , environmental engineering , geography , environmental resource management , environmental science , economics , genetics , medicine , computer network , ecology , alternative medicine , archaeology , pathology , membrane , biology , computer science
There have been significant territorial changes in the Spanish Mediterranean in the last few decades because of the important growth of residential tourism functions. The Spanish National Hydrological Plan ([, 2001]) and, to a greater extent, the Action for Management and Use of Water Programme ([, 2004]) advocated large‐scale desalination of seawater to guarantee a supply for urban, tourism, and even future agricultural demands. The paralysis of urban development planning caused by the financial crisis (2007/08), together with the downward trend in the consumption of drinking water in the last decade, highlighted a capacity to produce desalinated water that was far superior to actual needs. This study reviews the current context in which desalinated water is produced in Spain, weighs up the advantages and disadvantages of this method of water management, and considers the potential role that this non‐conventional source of water could play as a strategic resource in the future. The main findings of the study are that desalination is not a panacea; rather, it should be considered in terms of technological parameters tailored to the circumstances of each geographical and socioeconomic environment.