drying out - green places 46 june 2008 pp20_24

8/9/2019 Drying Out - Green Places 46 June 2008 Pp20_24

1/520 | GREEN PLACES | JUNE 2008

This is pretty much the scenariofaced by the inhabitants of thecity of Barcelona right now.

To understand how such a large andprominent city can nd itself in sucha position, one needs to look at theway water management has evolvedin recent years in this part of theworld.

For instance, Barcelona Parksand Gardens Department has beenrelocated to a new building locatedin the busy heart of Gracia, one of Barcelonas best loved dist ricts. Wehave been re-positioned as a main

player within the new EnvironmentalServices Unit, which has beendesigned to run all aspects of thecitys infrastructure includinglighting, street maintenance, watersupply and now green spaces.

The street where the new ofcebuilding lies is called Torrent delOlla, quite literally, Deep PanCreek. The fact that this creek, alongwith many others, have become busystreets, including the well knownRamblas, speaks volumes aboutthe uneasy relationship betweenMediterranean cities and water which

is, more often than not, funnelledstraight to the sea.

An uneasy truceIt is worth noting, however, that theneighbouring countryside has alwaysbeen careful not to waste water, to theextent that water rights managementfor irrigation is a tradition goingback centuries if not millennia on theMediterranean shores. The uneasytruce between arid climate andstrong, concentrated precipitationover a difcult terrain was maintainedby means of systematic usage

Gabino CarballoGabino is a landscape architect,a member of the LandscapeInstitute, with several yearsexperience in the UK and Spain.He has worked for companieslike Gillespies and WhitelawTurkington, as well as gardendesigners like ChristopherBradley-Hole and Arne Maynard.In Barcelona. He has alsoworked in various architectural,engineering and landscapeprojects and was solelyresponsible for a memorialgarden for a Spanish politicianmurdered by ETA, although heusually works as part of a teamfor larger projects.

The devastating impact of drought onthe city of Barcelona

BARCELONA

Drying outWhat would you think if your local water supply companyannounced that there are less than two hundred days of watersupply available, and that most of the water available fordrinking consumption in the future would be shipped fromsomewhere near the North of Africa, or else, recycled from thenearest sewage treatment plant?

Hospital Sant Pau: A large undergroundwater storage facility is being built here


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of simple but efcient irrigationsystems, good usage of undergroundwater resources and crops suited toprecipitation levels.

The situation has changeddramatically in the last few decades:traditional farming methods havegiven way to intensive, irrigationdependent crops grown on landwhich is now under continuouspressure from urban development andindustrial growth.

Development has brought aboutthe need for more complex andambitious water infrastructure, yetit has not brought about a changein the mindset of the engineer, thearchitect or the developer. Riversand creeks are still being channelledand funnelled towards the sea,large swathes of the newly tamed

oodplains have become propertydevelopments aimed at tourists andinvestors. Large quantities of waterare being pumped from a dry partof the country to even drier parts, tomeet the needs of an ever expandingconstellation of golf courses, touristresorts and residential complexes of unparalleled scale. This is a scenariothat spells trouble.

Ironically, in one of the years withthe lowest rainfall levels since recordsbegan, the hardest hit area has beenthe city of Barcelona, which is one of

the most efcient cities in the worldin terms of water usage.

A series of unfortunateeventsDue to a combination of extremeweather conditions, expansivegrowth, lack of investment inappropriate infrastructure and somefairly cack-handed (un)politicaldecisions, the city is expected torun out of water by October 2008,unless the climatic situation changesdramatically. Which is unlikely, sincethis drought, and its effects have beena long time coming. Procrastinationin this area will see Barcelonasdrinking water being shipped bytanker from a brand spanking newwater desalination plant located in...Almeria, by far the driest part of Spain.

Special emergency legislation wasput in place by the Catalan parliamentto regulate the usage of water in2005. This was rst implementedin 2007, rst at a basic emergency

The neighbouringcountryside has alwaysbeen careful not to wastewater and water rightsmanagement for irrigationis a tradition going backcenturies

level that has since been raised to thehighest emergency level earlier this

year.In principle, this legislation doesnot affect the normal activities of business and industry, but it does havea direct effect on the usage of certaintypes of usable water sources, suchas drinking water, which is reservedfor human consumption. And it alsohas a direct effect on the functioningof ornamental fountains and theirrigation of parks and gardens withdrinking water, which is forbidden.The only sources of water forirrigation allowed are underground

water and recycled water. Regrettably,

Below: jardi Drets Humans sustainabledrainage under construction

Bottom: jardins Ernest Lluch wateringsystem driplines



both types of water require specialand extensive infrastructure andBarcelona currently lags behind whatwould be an acceptable level of thiskind of water supply.

However, not every insti tutioninvolved has failed to performits duties with regards to watermanagement. The Park and GardensDepartment of Barcelona has

implemented for several years a setof sustainable policies that informits operating procedures. Notably,amongst them features a minimalwater consumption policy whichhas led to the development of acomprehensive set of practices andprocedures regulating irrigationinfrastructure in public parks andgardens.

What about the publicspaces?The rst of these practices would be

the decision to irrigate every publicgreen space in the city by meansof fairly standardised automatedsystems, which has seen the numberof public green spaces automaticallyirrigated grow from almost zero tohundreds a decade ago. The sameapplies to the irrigation of street treesand any other planting found in thecity of Barcelona.

The second would be thepublication in 1999 of a detailedspecication for the design andconstruction of automated wateringsystems to be implemented in thecitys green spaces. This specicationis revised and updated regularly,and it is aimed at contractorsand designers that wish to havetheir work approved and adoptedfor maintenance by the city. Thespecication is very detailed andprescriptive and the solutionsproposed are not high-tech: they aresturdy and designed to safeguardthe watering systems lifespan andguarantee its on-going maintenance.

This specication has been recently joined by a manual giving adviceon several aspects of the design andimplementation of watering systems.Largely based on principles derivedfrom a document outlining irrigationneeds estimation in Mediterraneanclimates A Guide to Estimating

Irrigation Water Needs of LandscapePlantings in California , devised bythe San Francisco and San MateoCounty Ofce in cooperation withseveral landscape professionals.This paper is intended to provideguidance to landscape professionalswhen selecting plant material, whiletaking into consideration water needsand serves as a guide to assist indeveloping irrigation schedules forexisting landscapes.

Plan of actionThe third of these practices would bethe installation of a device that allowsa public space to swap from drinkingto underground water irrigationin one simple operation, whilst

BARCELONA

The built environment isexclusively managed anddesigned by engineersand architects


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complying with regulations. Since thedevelopment of the supply network for this type of water is happening ata painstakingly slow pace, it is notunusual to nd that some parks areunderground water ready, whilst thenetwork itself is sti ll half a mile away.

A fourth practice is directly relatedto the choice of planting species andtheir maintenance, including lawns.In recent years, it has been generallyaccepted that completely green lawnsmay not be entirely feasible in themiddle of the Mediterranean summer.This has led to a number of in-houseexperimental trials and researchto establish which combination of species is better suited to this latitudeand its water shortages, as well as toa change in maintenance practiceswhich no longer guarantee the much

sought after perfect green look. It israther a patchy yellow one.In spite of all this progress, it is

particularly painful to see that therst victims of this drought are,precisely, the parks and gardens of Barcelona, new and old alike. SinceApril 2008, drinking water irrigationhas been forbidden anywhere in thecity. Most parks lack a connectionto the underground water supplynetwork which means that, as Springtime rains decline and temperaturesrise, vegetation will start to

experience severe hydric stress.The situation is worrying because

it has been noticed that evenmediterranean species are havingdifculties coping with the sharpvariation in rainfall levels andpatterns. This could mean that largeswathes of city planting may beobliterated over the next few months,and with it, the character and qualitiesof many public spaces.

Due to a combination ofextreme weather conditions,expansive growth and lackof investment, Barcelona isexpected to run out of waterby October 2008

Main pic: Fira Barcelona

Top: Plaa Nova

Below: Moll De Fusta



Remedial operations such aswatering from tankers have verylimited impact over large expanses of

green space and their environmentalimpact is huge. The truth is that thesituation is both critical and ironic:that the one area where the city hasmade more progress in recent yearsto curtail the excessive consumptionof water resources, is the rst to besacriced.

Whats needed nowAs one of the very few qualiedlandscape architects working inthe public sector in this country,

I cannot fail to notice that despiteall the celebrated brouhaha aboutcontemporary Spanish landscape

design, the built environment isexclusively managed and designedby engineers and architects. Thesetwo types of professionals are behindevery single development in the builtenvironment, often to the exclusionof any other. What their fair share of responsibility in the current situationis, is not for me to say.

What I can say is that a group of professionals with the environmentat the core of their practice wouldhave advised the powers that be ina more insightful way and possibly

recommended preemptive action at amuch earlier stage. Perhaps landscapearchitects may have been thoseprofessionals, were they allowedto practice and work in the sameconditions as the aforementionedprofessionals.

As for the likely outcome of this sorry tale, it is certain that thewater supply will be guaranteeduntil October, when a new waterpipe supply from the Ebro Riverwill be in place to supplementexisting sources of water. Interestingdevelopments related to this situationinclude the decision to use recycledtreated sewage water for humanconsumption, which would havebeen unthinkable six months ago,and a major push for greater watersourcing and consumption control inthe metropolitan area of Barcelona.Every crisis and disaster bring newopportunities and understanding tosociety. Lets hope that the lessonsfrom this one will be learnt for thefuture.

Rivers and creeks arestill being channelled andfunnelled towards the sea

and large swathes of thenewly tamed oodplainshave become propertydevelopments

BARCELONA

Jardins Ernest Lluch watering system two valve bypass

Watering system secondary supply line

Jardi Drets Humans newly planted

drying out - green places 46 june 2008 pp20_24

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