Browsing by Author "Garcia de Jalon, Diego"

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    The environmental costs of water flow regulation: an innovative approach based on the ‘Polluter Pays’ principle
    (Springer, 2017-04-24) Garcia de Jalon, Silvestre; Gonzalez del Tanago, Marta G.; Alonso, Carlos; Garcia de Jalon, Diego
    The EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) explicitly requires the full cost recovery of water services, including the environmental costs incurred from the damage that water uses inflict on the environment. Although flow regulation by river damming is one of the most prominent human impact on fresh water ecosystems its environmental costs are not properly included in water pricing. This paper presents a novel approach to assessing the environmental costs of flow regulation based on the polluter-pays principle. The methodology includes three steps: (i) assessing the admissible range of regulated flow variability, derived from the natural flow regime variability, (ii) estimating the daily environmental impact of regulated flows according to deviations from the admissible range of flow variability, and (iii) calculating the environmental costs of flow regulation. The procedure is applied to four river case studies in Spain, UK and Norway. The advantages over other water cost valuation methods are discussed. The methodology enlarges the current recognition of environmental costs of water use and represents a practical management tool within the WFD context, encouraging transparency and stakeholder communication.
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    Water pricing: are 'polluters' paying the environmental costs of flow regulation?
    (2017-09-02) Garcia de Jalon, Silvestre; González Del Tánago, M.; Alonso, C.; Garcia de Jalon, Diego
    River ecosystems are severely affected by dams and reservoirs. The Water Framework Directive states that polluters should be financially responsible for the caused environmental damage. Nevertheless, the environmental costs associated to flow regulation often are not fully paid by water users. This study presents an approach to value the environmental costs of flow regulation based on the "polluter pays" principle, i.e., the amount to be paid should be proportional to the caused environmental impact. The procedure includes three major steps: (i) assessing the admissible range of regulated flow variability based on flow data during the pre-dam period, (ii) estimating the daily environmental impact of regulated flows according to the resulting hydrological change in terms of the intensity, duration and frequency of the impact, and (iii) calculating the environmental costs of flow regulation subject to spatiotemporal characteristics. This paper applies the proposed methodology in the Luna River, Spain. The advantages over other water cost valuation methodologies are discussed. The approach enlarges the current recognition of water environmental costs and represents a simple and practical management tool for achieving the objectives of the Water Framework Directive.