Overview
- ETAP Estrella was inaugurated on Friday, July 10, 2026; the plant was built by Veolia, will be operated by Aigües de Barcelona, cost about €45.9–47 million and can treat up to 1,000 liters per second to serve roughly 15% of the metropolitan population.
- The facility treats water drawn from five existing wells in the Parc Agrari using activated carbon and reverse osmosis to remove salts, organic compounds and other contaminants before adding it to the network.
- Officials presented the plant as the first operational piece of a resilience plan that aims to raise the share of non‑rainfall water from about 33% today to 70% by 2030, and they said two more projects due this year will add roughly 33 hm³ (about 10% of annual metropolitan consumption).
- Design work seeks to limit local impact by adding a vertical garden, perimeter vegetation and non‑potable irrigation fed with regenerated and subterranean water, and the site will offer educational visits for schools.
- Authorities say the plant will improve day‑to‑day supply reliability in droughts, will be financed through the existing water tariff structure, and is being held up by builders and operators as a public‑private model other cities could adapt.