Drought is a climatic risk with notable repercussions on water supply systems. The aim of this study is to analyze the principal measures for management and planning implemented during recent decades in south-eastern Spain (Segura River Basin) to respond to drought situations, focusing on the role played by non-conventional water resources (desalination and treated water). The results demonstrate that the study area (despite being one of the driest places of Spain) is less vulnerable to drought than regions with an Atlantic climate and greater availability of water. This has been possible thanks to the integration of non-conventional water resources as a means of adaptation to confront this natural risk, which is estimated to become more intense and frequent in the future owing to climate change.

Abstract:The European Mediterranean coastline has experienced major tourism-related urbanization since 1960. This is a dynamic that has led to increased spending on water consumption for urban and tourism-related uses. The objective of this paper is to define and to analyze how domestic water consumption in the city of Alicante evolved between 2000 and 2013. Real billing figures for individual households were analyzed according to the type of housing and the income level of the occupants. The conclusions drawn show that consumption fell over the period studied, and that there are different patterns in water expenditure depending on the type of housing and the inhabitants.

Many Mediterranean areas have recently witnessed a proliferation of new urban and tourist-related features following lowdensity residential patterns that contrast with the traditional high-density urban typologies of Mediterranean cities. The aim of this research is to investigate the links between residential tourism and water consumption through swimming pools, which constitute one key element of the new urban landscapes in the coast of Alicante (southeastern Spain). We have digitized pools in nine municipalities of coastal Alicante and calculated the average depth and estimated water losses due to evaporation. Results show that swimming pools are widely available in tourist residential enclaves but that they tend to display different characteristics according to factors such as the history of the urbanization process and relative wealth of the different areas. We have detected a clear contrast between the large individual pools of the richer northern municipalities and the smaller individual pools and community pools in the newly developed but less well-off urban enclaves of the southern coast. Key Words: consumption, Mediterranean, swimming pools, tourism, water. 水资源。Recientemente, muchas areas mediterr aneas han presenciado la proliferaci on de nuevos rasgos urbanos y aquellos que se relacionan con turistas, siguiendo los patrones residenciales de baja densidad que contrastan con las tipologías tradicionales urbanas de alta densidad de las ciudades mediterr aneas. El objeto de este estudio es investigar los vínculos que existen entre el turismo residencial y el consumo de agua para piscinas de nataci on, que constituyen un elemento clave de los nuevos paisajes urbanos de la costa de Alicante (sudeste de España). Hemos digitalizado las piscinas de nueve municipalidades del Alicante costero y calculado la profundidad promedia y p erdidas estimadas de agua por evaporaci on. Los resultados muestran que las piscinas de nataci on proliferan en los enclaves turísticos residenciales pero que aquellas tienden a desplegar diferentes características de acuerdo con factores tales como la historia del proceso de urbanizaci on y la riqueza relativa de las diferentes areas. Hemos detectado un claro contraste entre las grandes piscinas de nataci on individuales de las municipalidades ricas del norte y las m as pequeñas piscinas individuales y piscinas de nataci on comunitaria de los recientemente desarrollados, si bien menos afluentes, enclaves urbanos de la costa sudeste. Palabras clave: consumo, Mediterr aneo, piscinas de nataci on, turismo, agua.

Since the mid-1990s, there has been a significant increase in the urban-residential land area of the provincial coastline of Alicante, Spain. This residential growth has mostly affected municipalities that first saw the arrival of tourism in the 1960s and 1970s but also affects new territories, primarily those slightly set back from the coastline. The aim of this paper is to highlight the consequences of changes in the urbanised land area over time and space on land resources and, indirectly, the relation between new urban typologies and water demand. To this end, this process will be analysed with a focus on such factors as the intensity of the process, the type of urban development and spatial differences in the rate of construction. The methodology used studies the urbanised land area by means of photogrammetric restitution of land uses in 1956, 1978 and 2013 and the development of cartography according to the dominant types of urban development. This data source will be complemented with statistical information pertaining to housing and water consumption.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the main changes regarding flood policy in Spain during the period 1983-2013, that is right after the large and very damaging episodes of 1982-1983 in Valencia, Catalonia and the Basque Country. Design/methodology/approach – This is above all a review paper that looks retrospectively at flood policy in Spain during the past three decades. In order to collect and organize the information the authors follow the methodology of the IPCC regarding vulnerability studies. That is, the authors provide evidence for an overall assessment of the evolution of exposure, sensibility and adaptive capacity to floods in Spain for the period of reference. The authors approach these issues through the own experience and expertise on this subject as noted in the reference list. Findings – While exposure to floods has generally increased (especially after the massive growth of urbanization in flood prone land of the 1990s and early 2000s) overall flood policy has contributed to make Spain less sensible and more adapted to floods. Still some issues remain unsolved especially the control of urban growth and the adaptation of the built environment to floods. For these reasons absolute economic losses from floods may continue to be important in the future (perhaps more so with climate change) even though, overall, Spanish society may have become less vulnerable and therefore more resilient than in the past. Originality/value – The paper provides a retrospective study and assessment of policies taken and their changes regarding floods at a national level over a long period of time (30 years) which is a theme still relatively little explored in the scientific literature on this hazardThis work was supported by the Spanish CICYT under Grants Nos CS02012-36997-C02-01, CS02012-36997-C02-02 and CSO2013-41262-