Technical Workshop

The integration of reclaimed water in water resource management: the fostering role of the territorial region

Presentation

Wastewater reclamation and reuse has been of interest for the CCB since 1985, as a way to solve the seasonal water scarcity and to improve the quality of surface, underground and coastal waters. The Workshop organized by the CCB in 1994 helped acknowledge the role that reclaimed water can play as an additional resource. The need to adequately manage this resource was the reason under the organization of a new Workshop in 1998. The high number of reuse reclamation and reuse projects developed not only in the Costa Brava but also on other parts of Catalonia and Spain have proved that an integrated resources management is a necessary condition to help pop up all the potential benefits. Most of these projects have been promoted by the users, usually with help from the different levels of administration, in a context of water scarcity and specific quality requirements, but have been developed outside of the fringes of a more general water resources planning. Because of this, it is of great interest to analize the progress and the future perspectives that the integrated management of reclaimed water can provide in the different areas of Spain and for the diffrent uses, together with the fostering role of users, planners and economic promoters.