Enhancing water efficiency: Distribution efficiency and consumption synergies

The Recast Drinking Water Directive (Dir. (EU) 2020/2184) aims to set a 15 % target limit for urban network losses. Research in this field is crucial for the advancement of EU policy directives aimed towards augmenting water efficiency and conservation in a context of increasing water scarcity. This paper examines the synergies between leakage reduction and water demand policies (water pricing vs. social awareness). In order to estimate the impact of such policies on the achieved water savings, a simple model is presented and applied to the case study of the city of Seville in southern Spain. This case represents an interesting example of continuous efforts towards reducing urban water abstraction in the last three decades. The results offer useful insights into the effectiveness of various policy strategies on the overall water-saving achievements in a context of increasing water scarcity and cyclical drought episodes.