The oasis of Bilbao is easily seen everywhere.
- LAS Group
- Oct 9, 2018
- 5 min read
Updated: Dec 17, 2018
By Pablo Lee and Irati Kim, in Bilbao
(Dec, 16, 2018)
According to ‘Sustainable development goals’ set by United Nations, ‘Clean water and
sanitation' is important to achieve a sustainable societies.
6 Clean water and Sanitation:
Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.
Text and photo Courtesy of United Nations (un.org).
There are many criteria for evaluating the cleanliness of a city. The indicator such as the way of discharging waste and the number of cigarettes discarded on the streets is normal. But the most objective indicator is the drinkability of tap water. Drinking tap water is a representative of the cleanliness of the city.
Drinking tap water in most European countries is very common. But the situation in Spain is a bit different. This is because the quality of tap water in Spain is very different. The The Consumer and Users Organisation (OCU) usually carries out regular reports on the quality of the water found in Spain – indicating where the best and worst tap water is to be found. Here are the most recent results.
Bilbao, the capital city of the Basque Country in northern Spain, boasts a high level of economics in Spain. The cleanliness of Bilbao tap water is very high in Spain, as it supports this economic advantage. Citizens in Bilbao have a higher degree of confidence in tap water than drinking water, and they are highly satisfied because they can meet free drinking water everywhere on the streets.
The System of Bilbao’s Tap water
So, why did Bilbao come in at the top of the tap water evaluation? Let's look at the reasons from now on.
The Water Cycle covers everything from its collection, subsequent treatment, purification and distribution, to collection and purification, before being returned to the natural environment.
1. Collection
The management of the complete cycle begins with the capture of water in the reservoirs of Ullibarri Ganboa and Santa Engracia . They belong to the Zadorra system and store 90% of the water that the Water Consortium distributes.
This water volume is supplemented by other secondary contributions such as the Oiola, Artiba and Nocedal reservoirs in the Kadagua system and other small reservoirs such as Lekubaso and Zollo, in the Nervión-Ibaizabal basin, San Cristóbal in Arratia and the underground resources of Mount Oiz in the Duranguesado. For emergencies, a water supply plan has been established from various Vizcaya rivers.
2. Cleaning process
The water collected in the reservoirs is transferred to the water treatment plants distributed throughout the territory by means of a complete network of pipes that have to bypass the complicated orography of Bizkaia before reaching the treatment stations.
Once in the plant, the water undergoes an initial chlorination process to disinfect it from pathogenic elements. Later it passes to the decantation tanks where it rests and it facilitates that the impurities are deposited in the bottom forming mud.
This operation is accelerated by adding to the water chemical reagents that allow the aggregation of the particles that are dissolved. In this way, heavy clots are formed that settle on the bottom of the decanters, leaving clean water on the surface.
3. Distribution
Once the water in the plants is treated, it is distributed. An extensive network of more than 400 kilometers of pipes, 40 regulating tanks and 37 pumping impulses allow the liquid element to reach homes, industries and businesses.
4. Wastewater collection
This wastewater collection and purification process is divided into independent systems with collector and sewage infrastructures located in the different watersheds of Bizkaia.
5. Wastewater purification
But the great work for excellence in sanitation that the Water Consortium has carried out in recent years is in Sestao: it is the Wastewater Treatment Plant of Galindo . A whole maze of facilities where dirty water has no outlet. Its construction began in 1985 and has been decisive for the improvement of the natural environment and the new image of our rivers, rivers and beaches. Since 1990, the year in which the works were completed in Galindo, 350,000 cubic meters of wastewater are treated per day with a maximum flow of 12,150 liters per second.
6. Return
The water obtained after the purification process is poured into the Ballonti River. But a part is reused in different activities and processes of the plant itself. In this way, the water cycle is completed, which, driven to the sea, begins its cycle again when it is transformed into rainwater.
(Quoted from Bilbao Bizkaia Water Ur Partzuergoa web-site)
The Advantage of Tap water, But people in Bilbao still buy their water
In order to meet magnesium needs more efficiently, then, the authors recommend that magnesium-rich water be consumed in several doses throughout the day. (Sabatier M, Influence of the consumption pattern of magnesium bioavailability, 2011) According to the paper, Tap water of the Bilbao contains the tenth highest magnesium in Spain. Also, Burgos, Bilbao(San Sebastian), Las Palmas and Madrid is famous for the best cities to drink tap water in Spain. If you live in any of the aforementioned cities, using the tap water for drinking and cooking will save you on average around €450 a year in bottled water. That means, citizen of the Bilbao can get economical positive and health benefit from its tap water.
Nevertheless, some people have not that good perception about drinking tap water. Maite(23, citizen of Bilbao) said that she prefer to drink the water that she can buy at the supermarket and restaurants. Also, she said that “It's good for the normal people, but it just way out of me, I don’t drink it normally.” Even she thinks tap water has advantages, she doesn’t drink water herself.
According to the study(Jose Ramon diez, Perception and Consumption of Bottled water at the University of the Basque Country: Showcasing Tap water as the Real Alternative towards a Water-Sustainable University), The members of the UPV/EHU community more regularly drink tap water out of reused plastic water bottles than purchasing single-use plastic water bottles. Interestingly, a significant proportion of respondents drank water directly from the tap or using a glass is only 30%.
People in Bilbao recognize the merit of the drinking tap water, but still some people hesitate to drink it. Therefore, it’s time to change people’s behavior. Bilbao already promote their tap water system. Unfortunately, it only informs the management of the tap water. So, the administration might conduct some campaigns or publicity activities to change the perception of the tap water and make people drink tap water in real life for sustainable development of water.
Drinking tap water have positive impact on sustainable development of environment. When people buy a water from market or restaurant, they have to dispose the plastic bottle. According to the report, 480 billion of plastic bottle were used in 2016(Euromonitor international). UNEP valued the cost of disposing the plastic bottles, and it almost take $40 billion annually. (Plastics in life and environment, government of India) But if you drink tap water by the glass, you don’t need to buy and use plastic bottle. And it makes save the money and earth from plastic pollution.
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