Conker Hydrography: Water Resources, Usage, and Sustainability
Conker Hydrography
Conker’s hydrography is characterized by open borders and aquifers that share the same river courses. River flow and regime depend on the quantity of water received by the basin, mainly rainfall. Rivers are irregular, with floods during snowmelt or heavy rainfall and intense low-water periods. We distinguish between Cantabrian and Galician Atlantic slope rivers and streams.
Agriculture, Industry, and Water Use
Water use in agriculture and industry leads to the problem of resource sustainability. Water contamination arises from chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and manure. Solutions include sprinkler irrigation, preventing water loss with well-maintained irrigation canals, and avoiding water evaporation in sunlight.
Industry uses water for paper and leather production, but mostly for cooling processes, cleaning, and removing residues. Current domestic demands require high-quality drinking water. The main problem is insufficient supply, leading to restrictions during droughts. Urban and industrial wastewater discharges contaminate rivers, but wastewater treatment plants and water reuse are improving this.
Water Transfers
Water transfers are necessary but face opposition due to high engineering and pumping costs, water loss through evaporation, changes in aquifer recharge, limitations on water availability at the source, and alterations in river sediment transport.
Seawater Desalination
This solution is expensive, and plant operation consumes significant energy. However, desalination technology is advancing, reducing costs and energy consumption.
Aquifer Recovery
Groundwater is extracted through wells and boreholes, especially in Mediterranean areas for irrigating orchards and areas with no other water resources. However, excessive extraction lowers water levels, causing desiccation of lakes and marshes.
Energy Deficit and Renewable Sources
Increased energy consumption parallels industrialization, agricultural mechanization, and service sector growth. This necessitates importing energy, making the country energy-dependent. Recent energy policies aim to reinforce traditional sources like coal and hydropower, reduce oil consumption, increase natural gas use, and introduce renewable energies.
Water as an Energy Source
The uneven terrain allows harnessing river water for hydropower, a non-polluting energy source. However, hydropower’s high construction and social costs, including flooding fertile valleys, are problematic.
Nuclear Energy
Nuclear power plants use the heat generated from nuclear reactions to produce steam, which drives turbines to generate electricity. Current nuclear fission technology is being studied, but research focuses on nuclear fusion. Advantages include high energy output and clean energy production. Disadvantages include social rejection, the risk of radioactive leaks, and the difficulty of waste storage.
Renewable Energies
Renewable energy sources include solar, wind, biomass, and geothermal.
Catalonia’s Water Demand
The Ebro basin encompasses the Ebro River and several autonomous communities. Water management responsibility in Catalonia is shared between the government and the Ebro Hydrographic Confederation. This basin contains 8% of the population and 60% of Catalonia’s exploitable water resources, allocated to agriculture, industry, and urban use. Internal basins account for 92% of the population and consume 40% of irrigation water. This imbalance explains Catalonia’s internal water deficit, exacerbated by low rainfall and insufficient investment.
Mineral Resources and Energy
In the energy sector, coal mining is limited to a few lignite mines, generally located near thermal power plants. Nuclear power plants produce large quantities of energy but are located near population centers and industries due to limited transportability. Hydropower utilizes dams like the one at Rialb. Biomass is a relevant renewable resource.