The planet cries out for action: water and climate change
Our planet, a fragile blue tapestry, is at a critical point. Climate change, a colossal challenge, is manifesting itself through water, altering its life cycle. Scorching heat waves, devastating floods, prolonged droughts and rising sea levels are alarming symptoms of a climate crisis that threatens the future of humanity.
Water: a vital resource under siege
Water, the essence of life, is a finite resource that sustains the entire planet. From public health to agriculture, industry and ecosystems, humanity’s dependence on water is absolute. However, the climate crisis is putting this vital resource at risk.
On World Water Day, the United Nations makes an urgent call to preserve this resource essential for peace and well-being. More than 2.2 billion people lack access to safe drinking water, and approximately half of the world’s population suffers from water scarcity at least part of the year.
Catalonia: a water emergency
Catalonia, a historic region of Spain, is facing a serious water emergency due to lack of rainfall over the past three years. The reservoirs in the internal basins are below 15%, a critical threshold that has led the Catalan Water Agency (ACA) to declare a state of emergency since February 1.
This drought is not an isolated phenomenon. The ACA estimates that the water deficit in the Barcelona metropolitan area will reach 130 cubic hectometers in 2027 if immediate measures are not taken. The situation is alarming and requires urgent action to guarantee water supply.
Aigües de Barcelona: Innovation and resilience in the face of drought
Aigües de Barcelona, a leading water management company, has been adapting its daily operations to cope with the drought. From the transformation of its facilities to the adoption of alternative water resources, the company is committed to guaranteeing water supply in any circumstance.
The use of reclaimed water, a sustainable and profitable resource, has become a key solution. The regenerated water, from the sanitation networks, undergoes additional treatment to reuse it for various uses, following a circular economy model.
Benefits of regenerated water
In 2023, Aigües de Barcelona regenerated 57.9 cubic hectometers of treated wastewater, an amount equivalent to the annual consumption of approximately 1.5 million people. Expanding water regeneration is essential to increase the resilience of the metropolitan area in the face of water scarcity.
The use of reclaimed water offers important advantages. Its energy cost is up to three times lower than that of desalination, and its carbon footprint is almost 50% lower. In addition, it contributes to the preservation of natural resources.
Boosting water regeneration
Currently, Aigües de Barcelona drives up to 1,500 liters of regenerated water per second from the Water Regeneration Station of the Baix Llobregat treatment plant to the Llobregat River. This water is incorporated into the river flow as drinking water and, eight kilometers later, it reaches the Sant Joan Despí water treatment station, where it is treated and made drinkable for distribution to metropolitan homes.
To have more water resources, the company is reproducing this model in the Besòs basin, a project endorsed by the Generalitat, the ACA and the Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB). With an investment of 1.5 billion euros, financed by the Next Generation funds of the European Union, this project will reduce dependence on rainfall and guarantee the water resilience of the 5 million inhabitants of the Barcelona metropolitan area.
Collaboration and emergency works to face drought
The drought has highlighted the importance of collaboration between different actors in society to face this challenge. In the Besòs area, Aigües de Barcelona has completed the first phase of the Besòs DWTP to recover the Rec Comtal as a supply resource.
In addition, the company plans to expand its facilities to take advantage of water directly from the headwaters of the Rec and the river. Together with the construction of new wells, this measure will triple the ETAP’s drinking water production, using advanced treatment techniques such as ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis. This will mean a water contribution of 15% of the current total consumption in the metropolitan region.
To increase the resilience and robustness of the Sant Joan Despí DWTP treatment system, the company has launched an installation that directly connects underground water with the ozonation treatment line and active carbon filters. This action allows the surface water to be completely separated from the groundwater in the treatment process, reserving the ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis stages for the river water, and the ozonation line and active carbon filters for the groundwater.
Finally, to ensure that groundwater can be treated in the plant’s carbon filters without them quickly losing effectiveness, the filter material has been renewed. These emergency measures are essential to guarantee the supply of drinking water and protect public health during the drought.