Undertaking a Cost-Benefit Analysis for an efficient Water Demand Management and Non-Conventional Water Resources: opportunities and risks for an economic assessment.
The uptake of Non-Conventional Water Resources (NCWR) to help meet the challenge of water scarcity in the Mediterranean area is strongly connected to the adoption of the emerging technologies for Water Demand Management (WDM) currently available on the market. WDM is a tool allowing water supply augmentation combining highly selective exploitation of new water supplies and use optimisation of existing water supplies. However, to replicate and increase the adoption of such technologies, a Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) on such interventions needs to be undertaken within different Mediterranean contexts to offer the best return for the society rather than possible alternatives.
These were the main topics addressed during the 3rd and 4th National Stakeholder Meeting organised by the Energy and Water Agency (EWA) as part of the NAWAMED project financed by the ENI CBC MED Programme, focusing on innovative, nature-based, and low-cost treatment solutions to change urban and domestic water management by replacing the use of potable water with non-conventional water in Mediterranean countries.
The National Stakeholders Meeting brought together policymakers, professionals, and technical experts from the Private, Public, and University sectors playing an active role in dealing with sustainable water management responses and issues in Malta. In fact, it was an occasion to participatively discuss CBA as an important decision-making tool for the economic feasibility assessment of public/private investments, and the challenges for the promotion of WDM and NCWR within the MED regional context.
During the event, EWA presented the work activities currently ongoing under the MEDWAYCAP project – also financed and belonging to the “water cluster” of ENI CBC MED projects – aiming at facilitating the promotion of best practices on treated wastewater reuse as a non-conventional water resource both at urban and rural levels.
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