'Emergency 1' in Catalonia, drought requires immediate operational and digital countermeasures

Last month, Catalan President Aragones described the current situation in Catalonia as the 'worst drought in the country's modern history', even surpassing the already severe drought figures of 2007-2008, as reported by the Guardian . The scenario, in fact, is among the most difficult ever: some areas of the region have not been irrigated by rainwater since 2021 and water reserves dropped below 16% in January 2024, leading the President himself to announce a state of Emergency 1, from Friday 2 February. The emergency measures affect 202 municipalities, including Barcelona, with a total of more than 6 million people, equivalent to almost the entire population of Catalonia.

Already during the drought 17 years ago, in response to the emergency situation, the largest water desalination plant in Europe was designed, which still today provides 33% of the water used by the city of Barcelona. In addition, the recycling of waste water was implemented, from which today 25% of Catalonia's water supply is derived. However, with an increasingly oppressive drought, the local government has deemed further countermeasures to combat the new contingency urgent: already in force on an experimental basis in the north of the region, the new measures include the closure of fountains, water parks, skating rinks, beach showers, public and private swimming pools, and a ban on watering parks and washing cars. Still open, for now, are only swimming pools that use sea water and car washes that recycle water, while groundwater will be used to irrigate trees.

In the Utilities sector, an alarm signal in this regard had already been sounded in recent years, when outdated infrastructures and the resulting water losses in the networks had already called the Authority's attention to the importance of digitising the entire sector, in order to protect the resource. The Spanish Government, therefore, following the line already started throughout Europe and the Agenda 2030 roadmap, gave a strong push to the adoption of smart infrastructures, especially in the water sector, by approving the Strategic Project for Economic Recovery and Transformation (PERTE), for the digitisation of the Utilities sector, which mobilised around 3 billion euros of public and private funds until the end of 2023. Almost all companies in the water sector have already started, or are starting now, the digitisation of their activities and, in 2024, a huge increase in the supply of smart meters is expected throughout the Iberian Peninsula. Improved readings and the benefits derived from saving the resource are the main levers that make it natural to switch from traditional meters to smart meters, as replacement has become increasingly necessary due to environmental factors.

With droughts reaching historic highs and a climate that is becoming increasingly hard on primary natural resources, losses must be drastically reduced and the tools to do this are already on the market. The digital transition can support the management of the water emergency, and we at Terranova stand by our customers and territories with our smart solutions, to be active players in an increasingly urgent and necessary revolution towards sustainability.