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case study: Guadalquivir

1. Name Partner

Córdoba University

2. General case study characteristics

2a. Geographical characteristics

Guadalquivir River Basin (GRB) extends over 57.527 km² and deserves a population of over 5 million people. It extends over three different liotological regions. Mediterranean climate with very heterogeneous precipitation distribution. Erosion problems. Main cities are: Sevilla and Córdoba.

2b. Land use characteristics

Natural forests (49,1%), agricultural land (47,2%), urbanized-modified areas (1,9%), wetlands (1,8%)

3. Pressure and impact analysis

3a. Main pressure(s) and/or pollutant(s)

Water scarcity and inter-intra use competition are the main problem regarding water:

• Agriculture: Responsible for 87% of total water use.  Contented increase expectations due to efficiency improvement plans of irrigation systems. Down-Upstream conflict: olive Vs. rice.
• Households: Responsible for 10% of total water use. Important increase expectations (around 30%) due to percapita consumption increase.
• Industry: Responsible of  3% of total water use. Important increase expectations (around 30%).
• Tourism: Expected increase of 77% of tourist water use. Very important golf industry growth in the last years.

Main sources of pollution of surface waters are: a) specific sources: urban and industrial water discharge, fish farming and mining; b) diffuse sources: transport, dump/discharge, irrigated lands.

Main sources of pollution of groundwater are: a) specific sources: dump-discharge, mining b) diffuse sources: industrial-urban soil, mining, airports, recreation areas, agriculture and livestock.

3b. Impact(s)

Increasing water quality improvement over the past 5 years. Three main damage parameters: organic origin pollution (mainly associated to urban-industrial centers and agriculture-livestock pools); diffuse agricultural pollution (nitrates, phosphates and suspended solids); natural pollutants associated with erosion (suspended solids), sulfates and chlorides. Uncertainty regarding water bodies on risk. WFD good chemical and ecological status objectives have not been established yet.

4. Definition goods and services provided by aquatic ecosystem

Most important goods and services provided by the aquatic ecosystem include drinking water, irrigation,  recreation and energy generation. In addition, some important industries are agri-food (25% of GAV in the Basin) are intensivein water use.

5. Beneficiaries / stakeholders involved

Agriculture (irrigation), households (drinking water, recreation), utilities, industry  and tourism (golf, secondary households).

6. Definition environmental and resource costs and benefits

Not a clear definition in the Water Authority Environmental costs are the costs of not reaching good ecological status by 2015 throughout the GRB.

7. Main objective monetary valuation environmental and resource costs and benefits

Estimation of environmental and resource benefits of reaching good ecological status for inclusion in cost-benefit analysis of the identified WFD programme of measures to underpin possible derogation according to Article 4.

8. Economic valuation method

Stated preference methods such as contingent valuation and choice experiments to assess the use and non-use values associated with reaching good ecological status now and in the future and travel cost study to assess recreational benefits as revealed preference method.

9. Key methodological issues

• Linking economic values to pressure and/or biological impact indicators, main issue is scarcity.
• Aggregation/upscaling economic values from individual water body to basin level, agricultural systems and farming types.
• Upstream-downstream and agriculture-urban transferences and markets.
• Multifunctional Utility of water: economic, social and environmental uses.

10. Available data, information sources and stakeholder involvement

• GRB Article 5 report and cost recovery report. Specialized reports by sectors (agriculture, irrigation, golf & tourism, etc.)
• Stakeholder involment: GRB Administration, Andalousian Water Agency, Irrigators Association, Water Public