The drought situation in Catalonia has not improved and in the next few days the Catalan Government is expected to declare an emergency phase with new measures and water restrictions.

A direct measure that the PCB will put into action once the decree is published is to close the changing room showers.

The PCB activities that consume the most water, apart from the daily cleaning of spaces, are the production of deionised water, glass cleaning and sterilisation with the large autoclaves.

Research activity has little room to reduce water consumption, which is why it’s so important that we use it responsibly. Remember:

• Make sure to use a quality of treated water (softened, deionised or Milli-Q) suitable to the need.
• Do not use toilets as waste bins, to cut down on flushes.
• Do not throw leftover food down the sink to avoid contaminating wastewater.

Between 2022 and 2023, eco-friendly taps were installed in all WCs with timers and aerators that save up to 77% water.

In addition, there are some water reuse systems in place at the PCB:

• Cluster II has a rainwater collection tank which also collects wastewater from deionised water production in the Cluster I and II buildings. This water is used for the toilets’ flush valves and to cool the autoclaves in the animal facilities.
• In the Hèlix building, wastewater from osmosis is also used to feed the flush valves.
• During 2024, there is a plan to take advantage of the cooling water from the autoclaves (which is already recovered) and bring it to the collection tank for reuse.