Systems Analysis of Zaragoza Urban Water - SWITCH - Managing ...

Systems Analysis of Zaragoza UWS
Guillermo Penagos
5.6 Set vs achieved goals for this research
It is possible to say that the goals set for this research were achieved on a large
proportion. A total water balance for the UWS was performed, although some subbalances
could not be closed due to missing data. Energy and chemical products
consumption were fully calculated. Pollution loads to the Ebro River in terms of BOD,
COD, nutrients and heavy metals were quantified. A quantification of toxic organic
substances would be also necessary, but it was not possible due to the lack of
information. According to its purpose, this work is going to serve as baseline
information for further assessment of sustainable development for this UWS.
It is possible also to say that goals were surpassed regarding the future perspectives
for Zaragoza UWS derived from the scenario analysis, which was not part of the
initial goals for this research. However, this scenario analysis can be considered
incipient because it only focuses on the aspects related to the collected data. The
suggested strategy is just a technical solution that could be useful, but it has been
included in this work basically as an exercise in order to extract more information
form the provided data. However, this scenario analysis has defined some important
problems that Zaragoza might face in the future. Comprehensive strategies to cope
with such problems are to be set by all important stakeholders in Zaragoza and the
SWITCH project would contribute with important initiatives to the process. A follow-up
of the parameters presented here as sustainability indicators will contribute to assess
the success of the set strategies.
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