case study: Jucar
1. Name Partner
Universidad Politecnica de Valencia (UPVLC)
2. General case study characteristics
2a. Geographical characteristics
The Júcar River Basin District (RBD) covers an area of 42989
km
2
in the
eastern part of Spain, within 4 Autonomous Regions: Valencia,
Castilla-La Mancha, Aragón, and a small area of Catalonia.
It enjoys a
Mediterranean climate with hot summers and mild winters and an
irregular hydrology characteristic of Mediterranean basins. Rainfall
produces a mean annual runoff of 80 mm, about 15% of the total
precipitation. Drought and floods episodes are highly common, and the
balance between water supply and demand is very fragile. The mean
annual renewable resources are 3200 hm
3/year,
coming from both surface
and groundwater (75%) origins. The Júcar RBD comprises
several rivers,
the most important of them being (from North to South): Mijares, Turia,
Júcar, Serpis, and Vinalopó.
2b. Land use characteristics
The dominant land use is forest and semi natural areas (50% of the
territory), followed by agricultural non-irrigated areas (40%) and
irrigated land (8%), predominant uses in the coastal and in the Mancha
areas. Agricultural demand accounts for nearly 80% of water demand
(about 400000 ha of irrigated land), and appears to be stabilised or
decreasing, while urban/industrial demands (4.3 M inhabitants,
including the supply to the metropolitan area of Valencia city) are
forecasted to rise. Increased use of non-conventional resources, such
as wastewater reuse and seawater desalination.
3. Pressure and impact analysis
3a. Main pressure(s) and/or pollutant(s)
Main sources of pollution are irrigated agriculture,
households, industrial activity and hydroelectric power production
(driving forces). Fish-farming can also generate significant local
impacts. The main pressures are: significant water abstractions,
regulation works and other morphological alterations, and diffuse
(agriculture) and point (urban&ind.) pollution.
- Agriculture: 76% of
total water use; diffuse pollution from excess of nitrogen
(fertilizers) and pesticides. Highest pressure on the coastal plains of
Valencia and Castellon (intense irrigated agriculture).
- Households:
20% of total water use. Urban demand pattern highly influenced by
tourism, mainly concentrated in the coastal strip.
- Industry: only 4%
of total water use, but economic importance (30% GAV) and impact on
quality, specially IPPC activities. Growing trend.
One-fourth of the river water bodies and half of the
“lakes” are HMWB. One-third of the surface water
bodies are at high risk of not achieving the good status. A few WB are
in breach of the current legislation of water intended for drinking
water (3 WB), bathing (2 WB), and fish life support (3 WB). The
probable impact on WBs is determined with data on chemical and
biological status (IBMWP index). Environmental Quality Standards (EQS)
have been defined for all the ecotypes. 40% of groundwater bodies at
“high risk” of failing to attain the conditions:
the coastal aquifers of Valencia and Castellon provinces, with high
nitrates concentration due to a great surface of irrigated land with
high use of fertilizers and some local problems of seawater intrusion;
also quantitative impact from intense groundwater overexploitation in
the Vinalopó area and in the Mancha Oriental aquifer
(significantly depleting the Jucar river’s
streamflows).
4. Definition goods and services provided by aquatic ecosystem
Most important goods and services provided by the aquatic ecosystem
include drinking water, irrigation water, hydropower generation,
cooling water and water for other industrial processes, fish-farming,
and recreation.
5. Beneficiaries / stakeholders involved
Households and water utilities, agriculture (irrigation), industry,
environmental groups, hydroelectric companies.
6. Definition environmental and resource costs and benefits
Resource cost has been related to the opportunity cost of water
scarcity. Environmental cost: cost of reaching the GES by 2015 (??).
7. Main objective monetary valuation environmental and
resource costs and benefits
Estimation of environmental and resource benefits of reaching GES for
inclusion in CBA of the identified WFD program of measures to underpin
possible derogation according to Article 4.
8. Economic valuation method
Irrigation water demands obtained by math. programming. Urban water
demands adjusted through constant price-elasticity functions. A
contingent valuation study is planned to assess the use and non-use
values associated with reaching GES.
9. Key methodological issues
- Integrated dynamic modeling of pressures, economics and
water quantity-quality impacts at the river basin scale
- Systematic analysis of time-variant marginal resource
opportunity cost, related to water scarcity and the marginal economic
values of water at the different water uses. Opportunity cost of
environmental constraints.
- Definition of environmental costs and benefits, and
possible application to derogations (disproportionate costs)
10. Available data, information sources and stakeholder
involvement
Jucar RBD Article 5-6 report
Status report of a sub-basin of the Jucar river basin
Case Study Status Report Serpis River Basin, April 2007 [pdf, 805 KB]
