Aigües de Barcelona continues with its investment plan to comply with the execution of the works provided for in Law 9/2023 on extraordinary measures to address the drought. In full coordination with the competent public administrations and with the objective of take advantage of all available water resourcesthe company is carrying out various construction works.
At the moment, the work at the Sant Joan Despí Drinking Water Treatment Station (ETAP) has already been completed and is in operation to allow the advanced treatment with active carbon filters of groundwater. This action allows surface water, treated with a reverse osmosis process, to be completely separated from groundwater, thus providing better resilience.
Work on the first phase of the project has also been completed. ETAP Besòs to recover the Reg Comtal resource for supply. In addition, a project has been started expansion of this DWTP to take advantage of the water from the headwaters, with the aim of, together with the construction of new wells and the collection of surface water from the Besòs River, to multiply production thanks to the application of advanced techniques with ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis. This action will mean a new total water contribution of 15% of current consumption in the metropolitan region.
On the other hand, the expansion of the Reverse Osmosis Treatment is being carried out in the Estrella wells, in Sant Feliu de Llobregat, where a new reverse osmosis line and a new activated carbon line are being built: guaranteeing the use of the aquifer, a necessary resource in the current context of drought. This performance is scheduled to end during the first quarter of next year, in 2025.
Aigües de Barcelona also has the construction of a new well field, located in the municipalities of Santa Coloma de Cervelló, Sant Joan Despí and Sant Feliu de Llobregat to extract water from the upper part of the Baix Llobregat aquifer and convey it to the Sant Joan Despí DWTP, with which a water resource can be obtained. 0.8 m3/s. This set of wells will also allow the recharge of the aquifer when conditions allow.
Additionally, another of the planned works is the expansion of reverse osmosis treatments at the drinking water treatment station (ETAP) in Sant Joan Despí, which will make the plant the most advanced in Europe. This intervention will also increase resilience and treatment capacity with an increase of up to 4m3/s.
The company is carrying out other complementary actions in the current drought situation to increase the water resilienceamong them, the adaptation of the Port of Barcelona’s infrastructure and the regulation of pressures.
But, ultimately, the comprehensive investment plan of Aigües de Barcelona, which will allow definitively solve drought problems in the metropolitan area of the city, includes the aforementioned investments and others for a total amount of up to more than 900 million euros.
In this way, the company’s commitment to regeneration and reuse as the most sustainable solution the current drought problems make it more necessary than ever to move forward with the project Next Generation in Besòssince this investment would allow the need for rain to be decoupled from the available water and will increase the water resilience of more than five million citizens of the metropolitan region of Barcelona.
The project is promoted by Aigües de Barcelona and It has the endorsement of the Government of the Generalitat and the AMB for the resilience of the drinking water supply in the region.
