‘El Port de la Selva is a small village in a rather remote area in northern Costa Brava, surrounded by rocky hills and fed by a temporary stream,’ says Josep Maria Cervera, mayor of the village that has less than 1000 inhabitants.

‘Despite the fact that tourism is an important source of income for the locals, the expansion of the village has been moderate compared to other places in Costa Brava. This limitation of the village’s growth has been a conscious decision, but it is true [also] that not having plenty of water resources in the area is a factor that demands a wise approach when it comes to development.

‘We chose to promote and develop water reuse because of several reasons. First, and despite all the technical and regulatory challenges, it was the [option] that could bring additional water resources for the village at lowest cost and at the quickest time. Second, we really believe that the world needs to develop in a sustainable way and this is our tiny grain of sand to it: in the short-medium term, the water reuse project will allow us to avoid tapping the resources from neighboring basins and also will require less energy than importing water from them, and much less than seawater desalination.

To view the full article, log in here. New users can register here for free trial access, or subscribe here.