Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems in Spain: A Diagnosis

Ignacio Andrés-Doménech, Jose Anta, Sara Perales-Momparler and Jorge Rodriguez-Hernandez
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Ignacio Andrés-Doménech: Instituto Universitario de Investigación de Ingeniería del Agua y Medio Ambiente (IIAMA), Universitat Politècnica de València, 46022 Valencia, Spain
Jose Anta: Water and Environmental Engineering Group (GEAMA), Universidade da Coruña, Elviña, 15071 A Coruña, Spain
Sara Perales-Momparler: Green Blue Management, S.L. (TYPSA Group), Paterna, 46980 Valencia, Spain
Jorge Rodriguez-Hernandez: GITECO Research Group, Universidad de Cantabria, 39005 Santander, Spain

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 5, 1-22

Abstract: Sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS) were almost unknown in Spain two decades ago; today, urban drainage in the country is transitioning towards a more sustainable and regenerative management in a global context where green policies are gaining prominence. This research establishes a diagnosis of SUDS in Spain and examines the extent to which the country is moving towards the new paradigm in three dimensions: (a) the governance and social perception of the community, (b) the regulative background, and (c) the implementation and the technical performance of SUDS. The diagnosis identifies barriers that hinder the change. Then, we define the challenges that Spain has to face to overcome obstacles that delay the transition. Barriers to the governance sphere are related to the lack of involvement, knowledge, and organisational responsibilities. Within the regulative framework, the absence of national standards hinders the general implementation at the national scale, although few regional and local authorities are taking steps in the right direction with their own regulations. From the technical perspective, SUDS performance within the Spanish context was determined, although some shortcomings are still to be investigated. Despite the slowdown caused by the hard recession periods and the more recent political instability, SUDS implementation in Spain is today a fact, and the country is close to reaching the stabilisation stage.

Keywords: SUDS; nature-based solutions; change management; technical performance; legislation; social perception; governance; regenerative policies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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