Explanatory factors of urban water leakage rates in Southern Spain

The need for strategies leading to the sustainable management of water resources is an increasingly pressing issue, particularly in regions that suffer great water stress. Paradoxically, in many cities of the world, water losses remain high. This is of concern not only in developing countries but also in the developed world. Analyzing data from 133 Andalusian cities, we ask ourselves why water losses are so high in some of the cities in this region, a region which has itself the greatest level of water stress in the European Union and also exhibits relatively high urban water losses. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.