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Barcelona strengthens its groundwater network to protect parks and gardens
Barcelona takes an important step to care for its parks and gardens without relying so much on drinking water. The city has completed the expansion of its groundwater network, a system that makes use of underground water for irrigation, street cleaning, ornamental fountains and other municipal uses.
This measure comes at a time when drought and heat are forcing a rethink of how urban greenery is maintained. Watering trees, gardens and flowerbeds with drinking water is no longer a sustainable option in a city that needs to protect its reserves and prepare for future shortages.
The investment exceeds 22 million euros and one of its key points is in Montjuïc. There, three new tanks have been built at the Castell de Montjuïc, the Viver de Tres Pins and the gardens of Joan Brossa, with a total capacity of 2,400 cubic metres.
Thanks to this infrastructure, Barcelona will be able to irrigate 21 more hectares of green areas with groundwater. In total, the network will cover 186 hectares of green spaces using this resource, reducing the use of drinking water for tasks where it is not essential.
The annual savings will be equivalent to about 60 Olympic swimming pools. In a city where every summer the state of the reservoirs is a concern, this figure helps to illustrate the importance of separating uses: drinking water for drinking and supplying homes, and groundwater for maintaining basic urban services.
Montjuïc will be one of the main beneficiaries. The system will cover 66% of its irrigation and cleaning needs, with most of the water going to gardens. The rest will be divided between street cleaning, support for firefighters and maintenance of ornamental fountains.
The new network connects the tanks with the Poble-sec system and the area around the Palau Nacional, which will allow for better distribution of water in an area with gardens, cultural facilities, sports installations and spaces frequently used by residents and visitors.
The plan does not end there. The City Council has started work at six more locations in the city to increase the use of groundwater in municipal services by 150,000 cubic metres per year. These projects are in the testing phase and should be operational this summer.
Barcelona also plans to invest nearly 30 million euros in modernising the irrigation systems of parks and gardens. The idea is to combine more alternative water sources with more efficient networks, to avoid losses and adapt the maintenance of urban greenery to an increasingly demanding climate.
The change may seem invisible to many residents, but it will have concrete effects on the city. More trees and gardens will be able to better withstand dry periods, streets will continue to be cleaned without putting pressure on domestic consumption, and spaces like Montjuïc will be able to stay alive even when drought returns.