Aigües de Barcelona dialogues with metropolitan social services to strengthen common work

The climate emergency and drought impact all citizens, but especially households in vulnerable environments and in situations of energy poverty. In this context, Aigües de Barcelona has brought together social services from the metropolitan area to strengthen dialogue, collaborative work, and co-creation in the development of social action projects and assistance for people in vulnerable situations. 

To this end, the III Forum for Dialogue with Social Services gathered representatives from the social services of 14 city councils, as well as the Barcelona Provincial Council and the Catalan Water Agency (ACA), in May, in a meeting marked by the impact of drought and its effects in vulnerable contexts. To address this issue, and through the cases of Barcelona and Santa Coloma de Gramenet, emphasis was placed on issues such as leak detection and the deficient conditions of some water installations in certain homes. 

Improving the conditions of these homes is precisely the objective of the Llars Resilients program that Aigües de Barcelona proposes to promote. The initiative consists of a project to support the rehabilitation of deteriorated interior water installations for people in vulnerable situations, which the company advocates deploying in alliance with social entities and city councils. 

Continuous dialogue and collaborative work represent "an essential tool to improve the quality of life and the future of people, especially those who need it most," according to Felipe Campos, CEO of Aigües de Barcelona. At the meeting, Campos also pointed to the need to carry out periodic reviews of vulnerability situations to keep water bill aid updated for citizens who need it and to "guarantee the good management of public and private resources." In this regard, Aigües de Barcelona has activated the protocol against energy poverty in the 23 municipalities where it provides service, in which more than 60,900 families benefit from the social water tariff, 11% more than in 2020. 

In this area, Aigües de Barcelona presented at the Dialogue Forum its accountability report for the 2021-2023 Social Action Plan, and outlined the lines of work for the 2024-2026 period. Since 2021, the company has promoted 118 social programs and initiatives in collaboration with 38 social entities, 12 city councils, and the Barcelona Provincial Council, reaching more than 5,000 people in vulnerable situations in the metropolitan area. 

The 2024-2026 Social Action Plan will commit to maintaining this public-private and social collaboration model to promote programs linked to the social needs of municipalities, highlighting employment and training as transformative elements. The plan will also incorporate a new vector, which will address water as a source of improved well-being and health, with a focus on the impact of drought in vulnerable environments.