It’s Water, Stupid!
Advertisement
Introduction
We are in a global water crisis. According to the United Nations Environment Programme, at least 50 per cent of the world’s population, around 4 billion people, have to deal with water supply shortfalls at least one month each year. By 2025, 1.8 billion people are likely to face what the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) calls “absolute water scarcity.”
Solutions
Do we have a solution? Yes, we need genuine political commitment and increased financing to protect and restore natural spaces. In urban areas, we can address water shortages through the deployment of off-the-shelf solutions that can restore the urban natural water cycle. Some of the most promising ones are green infrastructure. The existing, nature-based technologies allow us to renature densely populated areas with blue-green solutions that increase water infiltration, support rainwater harvesting and evapotranspiration, ultimately mitigating urban heat island effect.
Trezzano sul Naviglio (Italy), plans for transformation of Via Prati to allow water infiltration, increase light mobility and increase citizens’ exposure to green spaces. Photo: Gruppo CAP
Last week I had the opportunity to discuss with a member of the team of a major public investment project of about 50 million EUR. The project aims to implement multiple sustainable and nature-based stormwater management interventions over a total area of 530,000 square metres to be redeveloped through 90 interventions in 32 Italian municipalities in the metropolitan area of Milan. The project exploits plants and plant elements to absorb water and pollution, replacing asphalt with permeable surfaces that allow water filtration and mitigate urban heat islands.
The plan envisages approximately 300,000 square meters of new green areas, with 2,000 new plants and 32,000 new shrubs, and will save 126,000 kWh of energy per year, equivalent to 11 tonnes of oil.
Unfortunately, such projects are not developed at the scale required to address the challenges posed by the increasing number of heavy precipitation events due to the climate crisis. These, combined with the increase of impervious surfaces in urban areas, impede rainwater infiltration and evaporation. Implementing sustainable and decentralized stormwater management would help restore the natural water cycle while addressing other important issues. For example, stormwater overflow often dumps untreated pollutants such as heavy metals, particulates, and microplastics into local waterways, posing significant environmental and health risks. Wastewater treatment plants must exert extreme efforts to cope with the huge inflows of stormwater, significantly spiking related energy consumption for municipalities. Moreover, extreme rainwater runoff and urban flooding lead to substantial social and economic costs, including traffic disruptions, infrastructure damage, and lost sales for businesses and even loss of life.
Advertisement
Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive
Policy and regulatory frameworks have key roles to play in supporting the deployment of urban green and blue infrastructures at scale. A good package of rules that will contribute to greener and smarter rainwater management is the recently revised Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive. In this key directive, the European institutions acknowledged that stormwater overflows and urban runoff could be significantly reduced with natural water retention measures and green urbanization. The text of the directive promotes green infrastructures, requiring Member States to prioritize, wherever possible, green and blue infrastructure solutions in their integrated urban wastewater management plans (which cities over 100,000 inhabitants must draft by December 2033). Green and blue infrastructures are also stressed as preventive measures to avoid the entry of unpolluted rainwater into collecting systems, considered a first step by competent authorities. The directive, awaiting the final rubber stamp from the EU Institutions, is a step in the right direction.
Paderno Dugnano (Italy), rendering of new plan (already funded) for the creation of a new green area, with recreational spaces for citizens’ and increased permeability for improved rainwater management. Photo: Gruppo CAP
EU Nature Restoration Law Passes
One of the biggest drivers for the deployment of blue and green infrastructure is expected to be the EU Nature Restoration Law, a unique set of rules aiming to restore at least 20% of the EU’s degraded land and sea areas by 2030, and all ecosystems in need of restoration by 2050. The law was adopted after a long political negotiation on June 17, 2024. The law sets specific, legally binding targets and obligations for nature restoration in each of the listed ecosystems – from terrestrial to marine, freshwater and urban ecosystems. The text includes an obligation for the 27 member states of the European Union to ensure no net loss in the total national area of urban green space by December 31, 2030. Then, Member States will have to increase the trend in the total national area of urban green space, including integrating urban green space into buildings and infrastructure in urban ecosystem areas. Under the new rules, member states must plan ahead and submit national restoration plans to the European Commission, showing how they will deliver on the targets. They must also monitor and report on their progress, based on EU-wide biodiversity indicators. The regulation will now be published in the EU’s Official Journal and enter into force, becoming directly applicable in all member states of the European Union. The Nature Restoration Law is a first of its kind: for the first time ever, the regulation sets out to adopt measures to not only preserve but to restore nature. The regulation will help the EU reach its international commitments, in particular the Kunming-Montréal Global Biodiversity Framework agreed at the 2022 UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15).
Conclusion
Looking ahead, the ongoing work of the European Commission on the development of a “Water Resilience Initiative” was paused amid the increasing complexity of the political debate preceding the last European election session. It is crucial that this initiative resumes and fully integrates the interlinkages between water resilience and restoring the natural water cycle, especially in urban areas.
Over the next few months, the European institutions will be reshaped following the results of the European election held on June 4-9. The new European Commission will be in office from November 1. While the EU seeks political stability and sets priorities for the next five years, we must stress that solving the water crisis should be decision-makers’ priority number one because water is at the center of intertwined planetary crises including climate, biodiversity, and socio-economic security.
It’s water, stupid!
Advertisement
Luigi Petito, 49, father of two, is an expert in European public affairs. He is based in Brussels, cross-roads for international affairs and the European Institutions. In 2019 he was invited to establish and lead the European (EU) Chapter of the World Green Infrastructure Network. Since then, he follows EU policy and regulatory developments related to green infrastructure and advocates for a systematic integration of green infrastructure in urban areas.
