BWATER

Description

Barcelona is characterized by a high consumption of bottled water. The reasons for this behaviour are usually dissatisfaction with the organoleptic characteristics, the perception of health risk and mistrust of the quality of tap water. The consumption of bottled water generates a large amount of plastic waste, responsible for impacts on the environment.

The aim of this project is to compare the impacts on health, the environmental and socio-economic impacts associated with different drinking water consumption options in the city of Barcelona (tap water, bottled mineral water and water from the tap treated with household equipment), using the methodologies of health impact analysis (HIA), environmental and social life cycle analysis (LCA) and economic analysis.

The final result will be an index that will show which scenario is the most sustainable and healthy for the city of Barcelona. In addition, it will be possible to quantify the benefits derived from changing the current scenario of drinking water consumption to a more sustainable and responsible scenario. In other words, it will be possible to know the hours of life gained thanks to the reduction of diseases (bladder and colorectal cancer), as well as the social (economic development) and environmental benefits (reduction of CO2 emissions) and the money saved thanks to implementation of the new drinking water consumption scenario per person/household and for the city of Barcelona.

Objectives

The specific objectives of the project are:

1. To assess the social impacts of the different drinking water consumption alternatives (such as consumers’ acceptance, or fair conditions for the workers) through a Social LCA.
2. To carry out an economic analysis and compare the different alternatives from the consumer’s point of view (e.g. estimation of the annual average costs associated with the consumption of drinking water).
3. To expand the LCA and HIA carried out in the previous study by including other alternatives for domestic tap water treatment (e.g. domestic activated carbon filter, reverse osmosis equipment), and considering other widespread water contaminants (e.g. nitrate).
4. To compare the drinking water choices considering all the aspects together (health, environmental and socio-economic impacts) in order to identify the most sustainable and healthy alternative for the city of Barcelona considering the 3 pillars of sustainability, through a multi-criteria analysis.
5. To disseminate the results to both the scientific community and citizens in order to boost social awareness and increase a more sustainable and responsible behaviour among the Barcelona citizens.

Impacts

The results of this project will define the most sustainable and healthy drinking water choice for the city of Barcelona. This will bring different social benefits to Barcelona citizens.

Funded by: Barcelona City Council in collaboration with the ”la Caixa” Foundation.

Duration: July 2022 – June 2024