AN ASSESSMENT OF THE SPANISH NATIONAL HYDROLOGICAL PLAN

The Spanish National Hydrological Plan (NHP) proposes to transfer water from the lower part of the Ebro River up to the Levante basins, around 912 km away. The NHP focuses primarily on supply management, and is based on the explicit assumption that the world will change only incrementally during its entire economic life of 100–200 years. The cost per cubic metre of water delivered at the end of the transfer is nearly twice the cost of desalinated water. The NHP in its present form cannot be justified for economic, environmental and social reasons. In addition, the plan will not be necessary if demand management practices are implemented.