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We have just closed a summer in which the thermometers have climbed to unprecedented numbers and the heat has become unbearable, which has aggravated the summer fires. The climate crisis is already here and we have started to feel its effects much earlier than everyone expected. Extreme temperatures, drought, torrential rains and warming sea water will be common from now on. The health of the planet is at risk, as shown by the loss of biodiversity. And our health, as we discovered in the pandemic, is closely linked to the health of the planet.
On October 24th, as every year, the International Day against Climate Change is celebrated to raise society's awareness of the importance of the greatest challenge facing humanity at the moment. Global warming is a particularly serious challenge in the Mediterranean basin, where the increase in temperature is expected to be 20% higher than the global average. Desertification is progressing, harvests are at risk and an entire model of society must be rethought. This is why we need a sustainable and resilient management of natural resources, starting with water, a basic element for life.
To face the new climate scenario, Aigües de Barcelona is committed to preparing, anticipating and forging alliances to achieve a shared responsibility between administrations, companies and citizens. Public-private collaboration is essential to join efforts and achieve results in the fight.
The company has a roadmap to achieve the decarbonisation of all its activities and, in this way, to reach climate neutrality in 2050. The emissions of carbon dioxide (C02) and other gases with the effect of 'greenhouse' are one of the main causes of global warming. A problem caused by human activity and aggravated by the long survival of CO2 in the atmosphere.
The energy transition is a key piece in decarbonisation. Aigües de Barcelona has an active commitment to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and increase renewable electricity generation in its facilities, making them more self-sufficient. Among other things, it bets on the production of photovoltaic renewable energy, which takes advantage of an inexhaustible and totally ecological source: the sun. Thanks to an ambitious investment plan, the company plans to increase the production of this type by 10.4 gigawatts/hour (GWh) per year, and move from a level of energy self-sufficiency of 9.74% in 2021 at 14.6% in the short term. This plan has materialized in 2022 with the commissioning of seven photovoltaic generation facilities (four wastewater pumping stations, two reservoirs of the supply network and one of its offices), with the possibility in some cases of injection and sale of energy surpluses.
For all its activities, the company buys electricity with a guarantee that it has been produced with renewable sources and its fleet of vehicles is also sustainable, as it opts for electrified vehicles.
The Catalan Water Agency estimates that climate change will cause a 22% reduction in the water resources available on the Catalan coast. Faced with this challenge, Aigües de Barcelona is betting on the reuse of regenerated water, which is that which leaves the treatment plants and undergoes additional treatment to be suitable for new uses.
Reclaimed water is an example of the circular economy, where all resources are permanently reused, and makes it possible to ensure the availability of water resources without depending on rain (increasingly scarce and irregular) and the extraction of rivers and aquifers. It is accessible and stable water. In addition, it contributes to protecting and restoring biodiversity and ecosystems, reducing the water footprint because it is local water.
Regenerated water is currently being pumped from the Baix Llobregat regeneration station upstream to Molins de Rei to be reused as potable water. In this way, regenerated water is brought to the river so that the Sant Joan Despí water treatment plant captures it downstream and treats it again to turn it into drinking water and follow the water cycle.
In a normal year, 95% of the water resources for the metropolis of Barcelona are linked to climatology, that is, surface and underground water, while 5% is desalinated seawater. In a drought situation like the current one, 19% of the water resource corresponds to surface water (mainly rivers), 23% to underground water (wells and aquifers), 33% to desalinated water and 25% to water regenerated Achieving more sustainable and resilient cities in the face of the structural climate emergency requires knowledge and continuous collective effort. This is the way.
