Veolia Leads Four Projects to Accelerate Water Resilience in Catalonia

Catalonia is already experiencing the intensity of the effects of climate change: recurrent droughts, heat waves, and extreme rainfall episodes. These effects entail intense pressure on water resources in the territory, and in this context, the PERTEs for the digitalization of the water cycle —financed by the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge through the European Union's Next Generation funds— are consolidating as a key lever to get ahead of this reality and the future. Veolia leads this transformation in Catalonia with the highest funding obtained within the sector:19 million euros of investment (and a mobilization of more than 30 million with co-financing)for four projects that integrate digitalization, operational efficiency, and data-driven governance. These are the projectsFLOW, from Aigües Sabadell;A-MEDI, in 8 municipalities of Alt Camp, Alt Penedès and Garraf, from Veolia and Aigües de Sant Pere de Ribes;e-READAPTA, in Rubí, andRESSONA, of Aigües de Barcelona, which last Septemberreceived recognition from the MiTERDfor its innovative nature. In terms of volume and territorial extension, the PERTEs led by Veolia in Catalonia reach46 municipalities and will benefit 4 million inhabitants, with an approach that combines large metropolitan areas, such as Barcelona, Sabadell, and Rubí, and municipalities with strong tourist seasonality, especially vulnerable to water scarcity, as is the case in the 8 towns where A-MEDI operates: Sitges, Sant Pere de Ribes, Valls, Canyelles, Olivella, Sant Cugat Sesgarrigues, Olesa de Bonesvalls, and Castellet i la Gornal. The PERTEs promoted by Veolia all share a common purpose:to provide the urban water cycle with a digital backbone capable of anticipating and mitigating risks, optimizing resources, and making data-driven decisions in real time, to prepare the territory for the extreme scenarios brought about by climate change.

Water resilience: more own resources and adaptation to floods 

One of the main objectives of Veolia's projects is to promotemunicipal water resilience. In this sense, the actions being carried out in Sabadell, Rubí and the 8 municipalities of A-MEDI stand out, whose objective isexpand and diversify available own water resources, both in terms of phreatic water and regenerated water. In global terms, Sabadell wants to replace the equivalent of 20% of its annual drinking water consumption with phreatic water (from local wells and mines) and regenerated water. In the case of RESSONA, to improve the water resilience of the entire territory, the amount of water injected into the Llobregat aquifer with pre-treated water from the Sant Joan Despí drinking water plant will be doubled (from 1.5 hm³/year to 3-5 hm³/year).A-MEDIwill strengthen water resilience by betting onthe efficient management of groundwater with the installation of multiparametric analyzerswith conductivity sensors, devices capable of continuously measuring pH levels, turbidity, and other quality parameters in the head tanks where well water is treated. This monitoring, the sectorization of supply networks, which will reduce losses by 6%, and the use of alternative resources and local aquifers will contribute to greater water independence and the reduction of overexploitation of the Ter-Llobregat aquifer. In Rubí, four intakes will be activated and sensors will be installed with the aim of recovering resources from the Vallès aquifer, which will reduce Rubí's dependence on external resources. Withe-READAPTA, Rubí will also bemore resilient to rain episodes.The project includes the creation of an emergency flood plan, as well as the implementation of a continuous monitoring system and solid retention mechanisms at 30 critical discharge points. These actions will reduce the environmental impact of discharges. In addition, the PERTE projectswill help reduce non-revenue water(ANR, which includes, among others, leaks, pipe breaks, measurement errors, fraud, or unauthorized or illegal consumption). In this regard, the PERTEs deploy a set of actions such as sectorization and pressure control, the joint installation of 25,824 telemetry devices, sensors at critical points and intakes, and analytics platforms with AI. One of the most powerful tools that RESSONA has enabled to implement are digital twins. Two have been implemented: one in the field of supply and another in the field of sanitation. The supply digital twin is a100% replica of the water transport and distribution network(more than 4,700 km), which integrates real-time data and allows simulating operational scenarios, evaluating the impact of incidents, and exploring alternative management strategies before applying them to the real system. On the other hand, the sanitation digital twin, thanks to the installation of approximately 300 sensors, allowsanticipate hydraulic behaviorsin episodes of intense rainfall and design the best operational strategies to face them.

Digitalization for decarbonization: less emissions and more self-consumption

Digitalization is also aservice decarbonization lever. Operating with updated data allowsreduce electricity consumption, optimize pumping and processes, and integrate renewable energy solutions. In the case of RESSONA, the objective is to reduce the water footprint by 5%, greenhouse gas emissions by 8%, and energy consumption of the metropolitan service by 9.5%. In Sabadell, where practically all facilities already have photovoltaic solar roofs for energy self-consumption, the PERTE will enable the installation of the last pending solar roof, in this case at the Can Llong reservoir, a new installation that will save 26% of the energy consumption of the water supply activity. In Rubí, the energy efficiency of the service will be improved by 5% (with an electricity consumption saving of 25,776 kWh/year), mainly through the reduction of consumption linked to water production and transport. Energy consumption is also significantly reduced with PERTE A-MEDI, specifically by 967,339 kWh per year (23% of the service's energy consumption), equivalent to the energy consumption of 290 homes.

Transparency and economic impact of the 4 Veolia PERTEs in Catalonia

Another priority aspect of the PERTEs for the digitalization of the water cycle and the Ministry for Ecological Transition is to advance in terms oftransparencyin the field of water services. All Veolia projects contemplate the development ofnew platforms for information access for the administration, newcommunication channels with neighborse, even, the creation of a newObservatory of Environmental and Community Health, open to everyone, in this case in Sabadell. In Catalonia, the execution of the PERTEs led by Veolia mobilizesinvestment in the territory and contributes to boosting the local economy. The deployment of the projects is generating some250 jobsbetween technical, digital, operational, and maintenance profiles, and promotes the hiring of local suppliers, with an average of78.5% of local suppliers

Municipalities endorse PERTEs as a key tool to address the water emergency

The municipalities of the metropolitan area consider PERTEs as a strategic opportunity to accelerate the transformation of their infrastructures and ensure more efficient management of an essential resource such as water. As stated by the mayor of Sant Joan Despí, Belén García,the commitment of Aigües de Barcelona will help us in the work we are doing to adapt our city to the climate emergency, to preserve a resource as basic as water in a territory like ours, with recurrent droughts and heat waves." In this municipality, it already sand savings and rationalization measures are being applied in areas such as cleaning, irrigation, or municipal equipment,and the incorporation of more efficient network control systems will allow further progress in optimizing water use and improving service.

In Badalona, Xavier García Albiol, mayor of the municipality, also highlights the role of technology in water cycle management, emphasizing that "the digitalization of the water cycle is good news for the daily lives of residents throughout the metropolitan area." In this regard, he stresses that the ability to better control pipes, detect leaks before they become major breakdowns, and reduce losses "represents a significant advance in the protection of an essential resource." "The promotion of projects like RESSONA will allow us to offer a more efficient service, with fewer incidents and better energy optimization, thus contributing to a more responsible use of public resources. This is technology at the service of people, and it is what we should all seek," concludes García Albiol.

For its part, Sant Pere de Ribes is making decisive progress in this transformation with the massive implementation of remote metering systems. According to Mayor Ana Herrera, "before June, we will complete the installation of nearly 10,000 new remote metering devices, reaching 90% coverage in the municipality," which will allow citizens "to better understand their consumption, configure alerts, and detect leaks more quickly." The municipality's project also incorporates climate change adaptation measures, such as early warning systems for intense rainfall and studies on the use of regenerated water. "Planning today is the best way to ensure the future," says Herrera, emphasizing that this initiative represents "a strategic opportunity" to modernize infrastructure, improve service, and reinforce the commitment to sustainability and good water governance.