President Salvador Illa has placed the "water independence" of the Barcelona metropolitan area at 33%, and recalled that the objective is to reach 70% by 2030. The head of the Catalan Government made this declaration at the inauguration of the Estrella Drinking Water Treatment Plant (ETAP) in Sant Feliu de Llobregat, built by the French multinational Veolia and operated by Aigües de Barcelona, of which it owns 70% of the capital. This facility can treat 1,000 liters of water per second and represented an investment of 47 million.

Veolia, the French multinational that controls 70% of Aigües de Barcelona, plans to invest around 1 billion euros in Spain until 2030, an average of 200 million per year, according to the company's head in the State, Daniel Tugues.

Aigües de Barcelona earned last year 48.6 million euros, with an increase of 69.9% compared to the previous year, according to the results published by the company. The company that manages the integral water cycle for 40 municipalities in the metropolitan area of Barcelona and its surroundings – a population of more than three million inhabitants – reached in 2025 a turnover of 637.3 million euros, with an increase of 7.98%. Of this amount, 400 million, which represented an increase of 118%, were due to water sales, with a consumption of 156.4 cubic hectometers, 5.46% more than in 2024. The average tariff increased in March of last year by an average of 5.95%, although for most users it was limited to the CPI of December 2024 (2.95%) and for the rest of consumers it was 6.72%.

Population growth, rapid urbanization, and the need for more resilient infrastructure in the face of climate change are some of the global challenges that highlight the importance of commemorating World Toilet Day every November 19th. This day, promoted by the United Nations, aims to raise awareness about a service essential for health and the environment. The lack of adequate sanitation causes environmental pollution from wastewater and poses a serious threat to almost half of the world's population, who still lack access to these basic services, according to data collected in 2025 by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF. In Catalonia, the combination of prolonged droughts and torrential rains—increasingly frequent phenomena due to global warming—tests the capacity and resilience of infrastructure related to the water cycle. Although Spain has high standards in urban water services, three key challenges remain: wastewater collection and treatment, regeneration, and investment in facilities prepared to face the climate emergency.