Barcelona is currently facing a severe drought, and the situation is only expected to worsen in the coming months. The city’s residents are already feeling the effects of this water scarcity, with some areas experiencing water rationing and others struggling to access enough water for daily needs.
To combat this problem, authorities in Barcelona are considering installing a floating desalination plant in the Port of Barcelona. This plant would have a capacity of 40,000 m3 of water per day, providing a sustainable solution to the city’s water needs. The cost of producing water using this plant would also be significantly lower than transporting it from other sources.
However, before this plant can become operational, Catalonia’s water collection system must reach stage 2 emergency drought level, which is expected to occur before October. In addition to the floating desalination plant in Barcelona, there will be 12 mobile desalination plants set up in the northern Costa Brava region to meet the needs of that area.
The floating desalination plant is expected to produce about 6% of the total water consumption in the Barcelona metropolitan area, equivalent to 14 million m3 of water per year. This amount may not seem like much compared to other solutions such as transporting water from elsewhere or drilling new wells, but it could make all the difference for millions of people living in and around Barcelona who rely on clean drinking water every day.
Overall, implementing sustainable solutions like floating desalination plants could help alleviate some of Europe’s most pressing drought problems while contributing positively to environmental conservation efforts.