This underground water resources They are key elements to combat drought and ensure the supply of drinking water. However, in Spain the aquifers they are getting more and more polluted, due, among other things, to large quantities of nitrates from intensive farming and industrial activities. In addition, there is increased overuse of this resource.
Spain has a problem with groundwater and it is so big that environmental organizations, scientific societies and even the European Union do not hesitate to remind it. The results are visible at a glance: the world is dying of thirst. Although it is a fact that citizens living in the driest regions of the country for years have become accustomed to living with restrictions in the less rainy months, the ball has grown so much that it is now difficult to cope. And because of that drought has become a chronic disease. Although instinct leads one to look up at the sky to find an explanation, the truth is that a Most of the problem (and solution) goes underground.
According to UNESCO data, Underground reserves provide half of the drinking water consumed worldwide. Dependency is even greater on the Old Continent, with Brussels estimating that 65 percent of the total used for urban supply and a quarter of the liter devoted to irrigated agriculture run under our feet.
As stated in the latest statistics published by the Ministry of Ecological Transition (Miteco) in Spain, this rate rises to 30 percent. Although it is true that a hybrid model fed from aboveground and underground sources is dominant in almost all regions, there are areas that only drink water from aquifers. With these numbers in hand, it’s not hard to see why her contamination is a real drama.
Excess nitrogen and phosphorus
keyword eutrophication, A word that expresses the excess of nitrogen and phosphorus that causes the deterioration of waters. The reason is simple: these chemical compounds, plants and other organisms grow out of control, resulting in deoxygenated water and full of mud.
According to a study by Greenpeace, 44 percent of underground bodies in Spain are in poor condition.
The results are catastrophic and completely impact biodiversity (some algae produce potentially deadly substances for fish and birds) and water reserves. The causes are varied, but the most common are: agriculture, intensive animal husbandry, urban waste and industrial activities. Once again, in seeking the difficult balance between economic activity and sustainable development, it is the environment that loses.
Overuse without regeneration
According to a recent report by Greenpeace, 44 percent of underground bodies in Spain are in poor condition. “This country has allowed overuse beyond replenishment of the water cycle and polluted it, despite what is said to be an increasingly important source of human supply. It gets worse as the climate emergency progresses and the dry periods get longer,” says the environmental organization. At this point, it is necessary to distinguish two issues: those who are in poor condition quantitatively (27 percent according to research) and those who are chemically deficient (up to 30 percent). 14 percent fail in both cases.
Figures vary by study consulted, but the diagnosis is always the same. According to Citizen Network’s latest research for the Measurement of Nitrates, Almost 60 percent of Spanish groundwater is contaminated with nitrates. 37 percent exceed the legal limit. Even the Ministry of Ecological Transition admits that 40 percent of the calculated masses do not reach the minimum required by the European water directive.
The role of macro farms
By region, there are several that appear prominently on the map of the Iberian Peninsula: the Ebro river and the regions of Catalonia, Castilla y Leon, Mallorca and Gran Canaria have the honor of being at the top of this list. But there is no doubt that this is a global problem. “As the damage from landings increases southward, Pollution is concentrated in areas where agriculture has a strong predominance and also in the most saturated areas due to the expansion of macro-farms.», alert Greenpeace experts. And it is precisely those who bear a significant portion of the responsibility for this scourge.
Large cattle ranches are increasingly common in the country and have little to do with raising pigs, cows or chickens for millennial human consumption. Apart from disregarding the welfare of animals, this intensive way of producing meat, milk or eggs is extremely harmful to ecosystems.
Macro farms count their animals in the thousands and their excrement produces so much nitrate that the soil filters them until they reach the aquifers.. While it has always been said that cattle manure is a good fertilizer for the earth, the truth is that if they accumulate uncontrollably, they can become a real pollution problem. Therefore, according to experts, a large part of the solution to the poor quality of groundwater involves the regulation of these enterprises.
an action plan
In Spain this is a level one problem so that The European Commission opened a case against the Government for not complying with the norm on nitrates. The Water Framework Directive dictates that all underground bodies must be in good condition before the end of 2027, something that no longer seems possible in Spain. “Europe has already shown that it has strong reasons to think that this requirement will not be met in the Spanish case,” Greenpeace said. Because, Once an aquifer becomes contaminated, it can take decades to be completely cleared.
The European Commission opened a case against the Government for not complying with the standard regarding nitrates.
To address these shortcomings, the Ministry of Ecological Transition action plan This seeks to guarantee the survival of this pillar of the population’s water well-being. «Socioeconomically, its role in ensuring both the quality water supply and the supply to other economic uses, such as industrial or agricultural, is decisive. In addition, they say, they also have strategic roles in drought situations, given their lower vulnerabilities and the special attention they have gained in the context of climate change, a little-known resource that in many cases is “undervalued and under-managed”.
«High nitrate content is one of the main pollution problems in parts of Spain.. It is a permanent evil that has been dragged from the past. The main source of contamination of nitrates in groundwater is dispersed and comes mainly from agricultural practices, namely agriculture and livestock: manure, irrigation and livestock residues,” add the same experts. Therefore, the ultimate goal of this plan is clear: «Improving information, management and governance, aligning it with the environment, focusing on its good quantitative and chemical condition and the great challenge of achieving the objectives of protected areas and related ecosystems. their use is sustainable for different uses.
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REPORT. Marco Dentz, researcher at IDAEA-CSIC:
“Contaminants can reach human resource resources”
The management of aquifer degradation is complex, so the role of science is vital in finding innovative solutions. And for that you have to know where the source of this evil is. That’s the goal of the Karst project, a study that tries to unravel the laws of physics that govern the flow of water and the transport of pollutants. Marco Dentz is a CSIC member of the Institute for Environmental Diagnostics and Water Studies (IDAEA-CSIC) and the principal investigator for this project, which received funding from the European Research Council’s prestigious ERC Synergy programme.
-What is the Karst project about?
Its purpose is to characterize, measure and model underground cave systems to predict water flow and its pollutants. The first phase is dedicated to the study and measurement of water flow laws in channels or caves characterized by complex geometries. In the second part, it is aimed to examine and classify the networks of these caves and to produce replicas on the computer. Third, it is dedicated to mathematically modeling the flow of water and toxic substances in cave networks and measuring how their structure determines these processes. This will facilitate the assessment of the impact of floods, droughts or spills and the design of prevention and recovery measures.
– Received 10 million European funds. What did this extra funding mean?
It makes it easy, it makes it possible. Four researchers from four European countries are collaborating: Spain, France, Slovenia and Switzerland. The budget is distributed among the different research groups and most will go to the staff. We need a qualified multidisciplinary team.
-Spain has a problem with groundwater degradation?
-Karst aquifers are fragile systems because water and pollutants flow quickly through them, making them highly vulnerable. During severe storms, large volumes of water leak out and can reach rivers and streams, which can overflow their shores and cause flooding. Contaminants are quickly filtered and transported. Thus, they can access the sources used for water supply. It happened in Canada in 2000 when water spoiled by manure seeped into a karst aquifer. It affected the health of more than 2,000 people. This is a global problem.
Where do these pollutants come from?
-From different sources: industry, agriculture, landfills… There is a great variety. For example, the project plans to study a karst aquifer contaminated with chlorinated solvents of unknown origin in Switzerland. We want to use mathematical tools for forensic hydrology and find the source.
Is there a short term solution?
-It depends on every situation. The project seeks to find efficient solutions, facilitate the estimation of contamination and the design of prevention and remediation measures.
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To contact From the environment department: [email protected]