Study Sites:
Newsletter 2
Brief Description of Current Conditions
The Study Sites are very distinctive in character, but may also share some similarities.
The proper identification of both its distinctions and similarities is of key significance to
provide orientation for future application of water reuse and recycling technologies and
water scarcity mitigation.
1.The São Paulo Metropolitan Region (SPMR) – Upper Tietê Basin Brazil
From the beginning of the last century when São Paulo was a small city, with 300,000
inhabitants, who occupied 0.6 percent of the basin’s area, it has been transformed into a
megalopolis of almost 20 million inhabitants, occupying one third of the basin. Today,
SPMR is one of the largest
metropolitan areas in the
world,
with
39
municipalities
and
a
complex mix of activities
including
intensive
industrial growth.
Industrialization
and
urban growth took place
at the cost of greater
production of sewage and
the need to look for water
supply sources in neighboring watersheds away from the demand center. Water supply
demands have grown exponentially.
High
population
and
industrial growth rate in the
last thirty years created an
imbalance between water
supply and demand. The
upper Tiete river basin was
urbanized at a very high rate.
It is believed that SPMR represents a great challenge in
terms of Water Management.
Today the metropolitan area’s water supply utility
(SABESP) faces tremendous challenges in technical and
financial terms to supply the growing demand.
In order to address the water demand, SPMR relies mainly on superficial and ground
water resources; however, a significant amount of water is imported from a nearby
basin.
Synoptic view of water uses in the Sao Paulo Metropolitan Area
2. The Copiapó River Basin, Chile
The Copiapó River Basin is located in a semiarid region and the constantly growing
demands from many different users are increasingly stressing the scarce water
resources.
Mining, agriculture, residential areas and tourism are
competing to get access to water, whereas the
governmental institution is trying to elaborate a series of
tools to integrate all the users and demands, and manage
the water resources in a sustainable manner. Drinkable
water is becoming more expensive and is of poor quality.
The Copiapó River Basin,
Chile, which represents a
paradigm of a basin under
tremendous water stress.
Illegal water consumptions make the
situation even more extreme. Finally
there are several fragile ecosystems
that are very sensitive to water
scarcity.
The Copiapó River basin will face a
rapid development driven by the
mining industry in the next 20 years.
A strong increase in its population is
predicted, mainly in the city of
Copiapó and its surroundings.
Consequently, it could have a strong
increase in the drinking water
demand.
The water demand is met using all surface water resources of the region (the entire
Copiapó river flow is used for irrigation) and groundwater resources. Unfortunately, the
increase in demand has led to a situation where the intake from the aquifer is bigger
than the recharge (6 L/s against 4 L/s) which results in a decrease of the volume stored
in the aquifer and a situation of water scarcity.
Studies have shown a net decrease of the volume stored in the aquifer since 1988 that is
due to an overexploitation of the water resources.
Monthly mean variation of the aquifer volume between two gauge stations, La Puerta and
Angostura, located at the beginning and at the end of the aquifer sectorization
3. The Lower Rio Bravo/Rio Grande, Mexico
This case study is focused on the Mexican municipalities
of Reynosa, Río Bravo, Valle Hermoso, and Matamoros in
the Mexican Tamaulipas State along the border with
Texas, USA.
Conventional
water
management cannot sustain
development in the lower
Basin
of
the
Rio
Bravo/Grande due to its
complexity.
From Reynosa to the Gulf of Mexico, the watershed is
facing a complex situation due to various uses and demands of water. Irrigational,
industrial and municipal water
uses are integrated in this area.
Environmental
concerns
regarding stream flow shortages
along the main course of the river
are important issues.
The tremendous water use of big
cities and vast irrigated acreage
along the river has taken a heavy
toll on the river's flow; less than
one fifth of its historical discharge
reaches the sea today.
The Lower Basin of the Rio Bravo/Grande depends heavily on superficial water. For
centuries, the Rio Bravo has been the only dependable and secure source of fresh water
to the region. Underground water is available, but its chemical quality (high salt
concentration) makes it useless for most of the area. In some specific cases, it has been
the only solution to water scarcity.
It is estimated that superficial water availability is about 1,360 hm3/year and
underground water availability is about 40 hm3/year, which means a water specific
availability of 1,094 m3/capita
If the population reaches a 50% increase in
20 years (2030), as forecasted, the index
will drop to 730 m3/capita and will cause a
scarcity
condition,
according
to
Falkenmark’s index.
Index (m3/capita
Condition
>1700
No Stress
1000 - 1700
Stress
500 - 1000
Scarcity
<500
Absolute Scarcity
4. The Suquia Basin, Argentina
The Suquia Basin serves as the water source for the city of Cordoba, and also used for
irrigation purposes.
The acute environmental degradation is the result of poor
environmental management. The challenges of this basin
are to improve the general condition of the environment
and to make a more sustainable use of the water, reducing
the risks both to human health and to the environment.
The institutional and regulatory aspects must also be
carefully considered.
The Basin receives the storm
water and the sewage
effluents from the city of
Cordoba, thus inducing the
situation to unsustainable
condition.
The upper basin of Suquía River has
a surface of 1750 km2 with a
rectangular shape, with 70 km from
North to South along the Punilla
Valley, with a mean width of 25 km.
The development of human
activities on its banks and
surrounding areas are related
primarily to tourism.
During the last decades, long drought periods and floods have taken place. These events,
accompanied by land use changes can worsen the current conditions in the future.
Furthermore, progressive contamination in the contributing basin and silting and
eutrophication of the reservoirs generate situations where demand exceeds the system
water availability.
Water Availability and Water Recycling and Reuse Potential
The lack of water availability (m3/capita) is a common issue in all the four Study Sites of
COROADO Project and thus all of them present great potential for water reuse.
Nevertheless and despite the previous experience on reclaimed water approaches, the
efforts towards the application of Water Recycling and Reuse Technologies need to be
well-planned and organized as well as integrated. The latter means that these
technologies need to be supported by series of policies, strategies and guidelines for the
actual benefits provided by those technologies to surface.
Title: Technologies for Water Recycling and Reuse in Latin American Context:
Assessment, Decision Tools and Implementable Strategies under an Uncertain Future
Instrument: FP7, Funding Scheme: Collaborating Project
Total Cost: 4,584,166.00 €
EC Contribution: 3,411,507.00 €
Project Coordinator: Agricultural University of Athens (AUA), Greece
Project Web Site: http://www.coroado-project.eu/