Testing EKC for Urban Water Use: Empirical Evidence at River Basin Scale from the Guadalquivir River, Spain
Publication: Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management
Volume 145, Issue 4
Abstract
Water scarcity in arid and semiarid regions of the world is increasing rapidly due to multiple factors, exacerbating competition over alternative water uses. This is especially relevant in the case of so-called closed water bodies, such as the Guadalquivir River Basin in southern Spain. This study tests the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis for urban water uses (i.e., residential and services) based on a wide data set of 336 municipalities in the Guadalquivir Basin, for the period 2005–2014. The analysis includes other water use determinants, such as population density, age, educational level, employment, electricity consumption, and urbanization, which might impact urban water use. The results indicate that income is a main factor and has a positive effect on water use, since a growing water elasticity, with respect to income, is observed. Therefore, no EKC pattern is detected in our case study. This has enormous policy implications for the management of the river basin, as the river basin is hydrologically closed, with all available water resources allocated, and competition over alternative uses is expected to increase.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The data used are listed in the references and tables. The authors acknowledge the funding received from the SEJ 132 Project by the Andalusian Regional Government and from the Departamento de Análisis Económico y Economía Politica of the University of Seville. The second and third authors acknowledge the funding received from the Cátedra de Economía de la Energía y del Medio Ambiente (Department for Energy and Environmental Economics) of the University of Seville (Reference 1394/0103).
References
Alam, M. M., M. W. Murad, A. H. M. Noman, and I. Ozturk. 2016. “Relationships among carbon emissions, economic growth, energy consumption and population growth: Testing Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis for Brazil, China, India and Indonesia.” Ecol. Indic. 70: 466–479. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2016.06.043.
Al-Mulali, U., C. F. Tang, and I. Ozturk. 2015. “Estimating the environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis: Evidence from Latin America and the Caribbean countries.” Renewable Sustainable Energy Rev. 50: 918–924. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2015.05.017.
Arbués, F., and I. Villanúa. 2006. “Potential for pricing policies in water resources management: Estimation of urban residential water demand in Zaragoza, Spain.” Urban Stud. 43 (13): 2421–2442. https://doi.org/10.1080/00420980601038255.
Bartczak, A., A. Kopanska, and J. Raczka. 2009. “Residential water demand in a transition economy: Evidence from Poland.” Water Sci. Technol.: Water Supply 9 (5): 509–516. https://doi.org/10.2166/ws.2009.447.
Berbel, J., A. Expósito, and M. Borrego-Marín. 2018. “Conciliation of competing uses and stakeholder rights to groundwater: An evaluation of Fuencaliente aquifer (Spain).” Int. J. Water Resour. Dev., in press. https://doi.org/10.1080/07900627.2018.1491392.
Bhattarai, M. 2004. Irrigation Kuznets curve, governments and dynamics and irrigation development in global cross-country analysis from 1972 to 1991.. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute.
Birrell, B., V. Rapson, and T. F. Smith. 2005. Impact of demographic change and urban consolidation of domestic water use. Melbourne, VIC, Australia: Water Services Association of Australia.
Cabrera, E. 2013. “Urban and industrial water use challenges.” In Water, agriculture and the environment in Spain: Can we square the circle? Edited by L. De Stefano and M. R. Llamas, 166–175. Leiden, Netherlands: CRC Press.
Cole, M. A. 2004. “Economic growth and water use.” Appl. Econ. Lett. 11 (1): 1–4. https://doi.org/10.1080/1350485042000187435.
Dalhuisen, J. M., R. J. G. M. Florax, H. L. F. De Groot, and P. Nijkamp. 2003. “Price and income elasticities of residential water demand: A meta-analysis.” Land Econ. 79 (2): 292–308. https://doi.org/10.2307/3146872.
Domene, E., and D. Saurí. 2006. “Urbanisation and water consumption: Influencing factors in the Metropolitan Region of Barcelona.” Urban Stud. 43 (9): 1605–1623. https://doi.org/10.1080/00420980600749969.
Duarte, R., V. Pinilla, and A. Serrano. 2013. “Is there an environmental Kuznets curve for water use? A panel smooth transition regression approach.” Econ. Modell. 31: 518–527. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econmod.2012.12.010.
Dumont, A., G. Salmoral, and M. R. Llamas. 2013. “The extended water footprint of the Guadalquivir basin.” In Water, agriculture and the environment in Spain: Can we square the circle? Edited by L. De Stefano and M. R. Llamas, 105–114. Leiden, Netherlands: CRC Press.
Expósito, A., and J. Berbel. 2017a. “Agricultural irrigation water use in a closed basin and the impacts on water productivity: The case of the Guadalquivir river basin (southern Spain).” Water 9 (2): 136. https://doi.org/10.3390/w9020136.
Expósito, A., and J. Berbel. 2017b. “Sustainability implications of deficit irrigation in a mature water economy: A case study in southern Spain.” Sustainability 9 (7): 1144. https://doi.org/10.3390/su9071144.
FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization). 2017. The future of food and agriculture: Trends and challenges. Rome: FAO.
Gato, S., N. Jayasuriya, and P. Roberts. 2007. “Forecasting residential water demand: Case study.” J. Water Resour. Plann. Manage. 133 (4): 309–319. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9496(2007)133:4(309).
Gill, A. R., K. K. Viswanathan, and S. Hassan. 2017. “Is environmental Kuznets Curve still relevant?” Int. J. Energy Econ. Policy 7 (1): 156–165.
Gleick, P. H. 2003. “Water use.” Annu. Rev. Environ. Resour. 28 (1): 275–314. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.energy.28.040202.122849.
Goklany, I. M. 2002. “Comparing 20th century trends in U.S. and global agricultural water and land use.” Water Int. 27 (3): 321–329. https://doi.org/10.1080/02508060208687012.
Grafton, R. Q., M. B. Ward, H. To, and T. Kompas. 2011. “Determinants of residential water consumption: Evidence and analysis from a 10-country household survey.” Water Resour. Res. 47 (8): W08537. https://doi.org/10.1029/2010WR009685.
Greene, W. 2000. Econometric analysis. 4th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Grossman, G. M., and A. B. Krueger. 1991. Environmental impacts of a North American free trade agreement.. Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research.
Gu, A., Y. Zhang, and B. Pan. 2017. “Relationship between industrial water use and economic growth in China: Insights from an environmental Kuznets curve.” Water 9 (8): 556. https://doi.org/10.3390/w9080556.
Hanemann, W. M. 2006. “The economic concept of water.” In Water crisis: Myth or reality? Edited by P. P. Rogers, M. R. Llamas, and L. Martínez-Cortina, 61–91. London: Taylor & Francis.
Hardy, L., and A. Garrido. 2013. “Challenges and opportunities related to the Spanish water-energy nexus.” In Water, agriculture and the environment in Spain: Can we square the circle? Edited by L. De Stefano and M. R. Llamas, 177–190. Leiden, Netherlands: CRC Press.
Hemati, A., M. Mehrara, and A. Sayehmmiri. 2011. “New vision on the relationship between income and water withdrawal in industry sector.” Nat. Resour. 2 (3): 191–196. https://doi.org/10.4236/nr.2011.23025.
House-Peters, L., B. Pratt, and H. Chang. 2010. “Effects of urban spatial structure, sociodemographics, and climate on residential water consumption in Hillsboro, Oregon.” J. Am. Water Resour. Assoc. 46 (3): 461–472. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-1688.2009.00415.x.
House-Peters, L. A., and H. Chang. 2011. “Urban water demand modeling: Review of concepts, methods, and organizing principles.” Water Resour. Res. 47 (5): W05401. https://doi.org/10.1029/2010WR009624.
Howitt, R. 2015. “Water scarcity and the demand for water markets.” In Routledge handbook of water economics and institutions. Edited by K. Burnett, R. Howitt, J. A. Roumasset, and C. A. Wada, 30–39. London: Routledge.
INE (Instituto Nacional de Estadística). 2018. INEbase, municipal population. [In Spanish.] Madrid, Spain: Instituto Nacional de Estadística.
Jia, S., H. Yang, S. Zhang, L. Wang, and J. Xia. 2006. “Industrial water use Kuznets curve: Evidence from industrialized countries and implications for developing countries.” J. Water Resour. Plann. Manage. 132 (3): 183–191. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9496(2006)132:3(183).
Katz, D. 2008. “Water, economic growth, and conflict: Three studies.” ProQuest dissertations, Dept. of Natural Resources and Environment, Univ. of Michigan.
Katz, D. 2015. “Water use and economic growth: Reconsidering the environmental Kuznets curve relationship.” J. Cleaner Prod. 88 (1): 205–213. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.08.017.
Kenney, S. D., C. Goemans, R. Klein, J. Lowery, and K. Reidy. 2008. “Residential water demand management: Lessons from Aurora, Colorado.” J. Am. Water Resour. Assoc. 44 (1): 192–207. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-1688.2007.00147.x.
Kocsis, T. 2012. “Looking through the dataquadrate: Characterizing the human-environment relationship through economic, hedonic, ecological and demographic measures.” J. Cleaner Prod. 35 (Nov): 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2012.04.020.
Kuznets, S. 1955. “Economic growth and income inequality.” Am. Econ. Rev. 65 (1): 1–28.
Lee, M., A. A. Keller, P. C. Chiang, W. Den, H. Wang, C. Hou, J. Wu, X. Wang, and J. Yan. 2017. “Water-energy nexus for urban water systems: A comparative review on energy intensity and environmental impacts in relation to global water risks.” Appl. Energy 205: 589–601. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2017.08.002.
MAPAMA (Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente). 2016. Guadalquivir river basin management plan (2015–2021): Royal decree 1/2016, 8 of January, to approve river basin management plans. Madrid, Spain: Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fishing, Food and Environment.
March, H., J. Perarnau, and D. Saurí. 2012. “Exploring the links between immigration. ageing and domestic water consumption: The case of the metropolitan area of Barcelona.” Reg. Stud. 46 (2): 229–244. https://doi.org/10.1080/00343404.2010.487859.
March, H., and D. Saurí. 2010. “The suburbanization of water scarcity in the Barcelona metropolitan region: Socio-demographic and urban changes influencing domestic water consumption.” Prof. Geogr. 62 (1): 32–45. https://doi.org/10.1080/00330120903375860.
Martínez-Espiñeira, R. 2007. “An estimation of residential water demand using co-integration and error correction techniques.” J. Appl. Econ. 10 (1): 161–184. https://doi.org/10.1080/15140326.2007.12040486.
Martínez-Espiñeira, R., and C. Nauges. 2004. “Is all domestic water consumption sensitive to price control?” Appl. Econ. 36 (15): 1697–1703. https://doi.org/10.1080/0003684042000218570.
Martins, R., and A. Fortunato. 2007. “Residential water demand under block rates: A Portuguese case study.” Water Policy 9 (2): 217–230. https://doi.org/10.2166/wp.2007.004.
Mazzanti, M., and A. Montini. 2006. “The determinants of residential water demand: empirical evidence for a panel of Italian municipalities.” Appl. Econ. Lett. 13 (2): 107–111. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504850500390788.
Molle, F., P. Wester, and P. Hirsch. 2010. “River basin closure: Processes, implications and responses.” Agric. Water Manage. 97 (4): 569–577. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2009.01.004.
Musolesi, M., and M. Nosvelli. 2007. “Dynamics of residential water consumption in a panel of Italian municipalities.” Appl. Econ. Lett. 14 (6): 441–444. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504850500425642.
Ozturk, I. 2015. “Sustainability in the food-energy-water nexus: Evidence from BRICS (Brazil, the Russian Federation, India, China, and South Africa) countries.” Energy 93 (Dec): 999–1010. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2015.09.104.
Ozturk, I. 2017. “The dynamic relationship between agricultural sustainability and food-energy-water poverty in a panel of selected Sub-Saharan African Countries.” Energy Policy 107: 289–299. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2017.04.048.
Pablo-Romero, M. P., R. Pozo-Barajas, and A. Sánchez-Braza. 2016. “Analyzing the effects of Energy Action Plans on electricity consumption in Covenant of Mayors signatory municipalities in Andalusia.” Energy Policy 99: 12–26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2016.09.049.
Pablo-Romero, M. P., and A. Sánchez-Braza. 2017. “Residential energy environmental Kuznets curve in the EU-28.” Energy 125 (Apr): 44–54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2017.02.091.
Pesaran, M. H. 2004. General diagnostic tests for cross section dependence in panels.. Cambridge, UK: Faculty of Economics, Univ. of Cambridge.
Pesaran, M. H. 2007. “A simple panel unit root test in the presence of cross section dependence.” J. Appl. Econ. 22 (2): 265–312. https://doi.org/10.1002/jae.951.
Plappally, A. K., and V. Lienhard. 2012. “Energy requirements for water production, treatment, end use, reclamation, and disposal.” Renewable Sustainable Energy Rev. 16 (7): 4818–4848. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2012.05.022.
Rock, M. T. 1998. “Freshwater use, freshwater scarcity, and socioeconomic development.” J. Environ. Dev. 7 (3): 278–301. https://doi.org/10.1177/107049659800700304.
Romano, G., N. Salvati, and A. Guerrini. 2014a. “Estimating the determinants of residential water demand in Italy.” Water 6 (10): 2929–2945. https://doi.org/10.3390/w6102929.
Romano, G., N. Salvati, and A. Guerrini. 2014b. “Factors affecting water utility companies’ decision to promote the reduction of household water consumption.” Water Resour. Manage. 28 (15): 5491–5505. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-014-0818-5.
Rosegrant, M., X. Cai, and S. Cline. 2002. World water and food to 2025. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute.
Schleich, J., and T. Hillenbrand. 2009. “Determinants of residential water demand in Germany.” Ecol. Econ. 68 (6): 1756–1769. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2008.11.012.
Shahbaz, M., S. A. Solarin, and I. Ozturk. 2016. “Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis and the role of globalization in selected African countries.” Ecol. Indic. 67 (Aug): 623–636. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2016.03.024.
Shandas, V., and G. H. Parandvash. 2010. “Integrating urban form and demographics in water-demand management: An empirical case study of Portland, Oregon.” Environ. Plann. B: Plann. Des. 37 (1): 112–128. https://doi.org/10.1068/b35036.
Shiklomanov, I. A. 2000. “Appraisal and assessment of world water resources.” Water Int. 25 (1): 11–32. https://doi.org/10.1080/02508060008686794.
SIMA (Sistema de Información Multiterritorial de Andalucía). 2018. “Multiterritorial information system of Andalusia.” Sevilla (Spain): Junta de Andalucía. Accessed February 15, 2018. http://www.juntadeandalucia.es/institutodeestadisticaycartografia/iea/consultasActividad.jsp?CodOper=104andsub=48386.
Solarin, S. A., U. Al-Mulali, and I. Ozturk. 2017. “Validating the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis in India and China: The role of hydroelectricity consumption.” Renewable Sustainable Energy Rev. 80 (Dec): 1578–1587. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2017.07.028.
Sun, S., and C. Fang. 2018. “Water use trend analysis: A non-parametric method for the environmental Kuznets curve detection.” J. Cleaner Prod. 172 (Jan): 497–507. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.10.212.
Vincent, J. R. 1997. “Testing for environmental Kuznets curves within a developing country.” Environ. Dev. Econ. 2 (4): 417–431. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1355770X97000223.
Wakeel, M., B. Chen, T. Hayat, A. Alsaedi, and B. Ahmad. 2016. “Energy consumption for water use cycles in different countries: A review.” Appl. Energy 178 (Sep): 868–885. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2016.06.114.
Water Act. 2001. Royal Legislative Decree 1/2001, of 20 July, approving the consolidated text of the Water Act, BOE nº 176, 24 July 2001. [In Spanish.] Madrid, Spain: Water Act.
Wooldridge, J. 2002. Econometric analysis of cross section and panel data. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Zhao, J. 2017. “The cubic water Kuznets curve: Patterns of urban water consumption and water policy effects.” Water Policy 19 (1): 28–45. https://doi.org/10.2166/wp.2016.146.
Zhao, X., X. Fan, and J. Liang. 2017. “Kuznets type relationship between water use and economic growth in China.” J. Cleaner Prod. 168 (Dec): 1091–1100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.08.189.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management
Volume 145 • Issue 4 • April 2019
Copyright
©2019 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: May 29, 2018
Accepted: Oct 2, 2018
Published online: Feb 13, 2019
Published in print: Apr 1, 2019
Discussion open until: Jul 13, 2019
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.