A fondo: Análisis 2019 | In depth: Analysis of 2019 FuturEnviro | Febrero February 2020 www.futurenviro.es 35 Todos sabemos que el agua es muy importante, pero no todos somos conscientes de esa importancia más allá de abrir el grifo. Quizás, porque la cultura del agua, cómo derecho universal a su acceso y el debate de su precio, queda restringida a una pequeña parte de la población. Hablar del agua implica ir más allá de su consumo, ya que después de utilizarla es necesario tratarla para devolverla limpia a sus cauces, lo que franquea el paso al saneamiento y a la depuración, esenciales para alcanzar un medio ambiente adecuado, garantía de salud y de futuro, que con tanta razón proclama y exige nuestra Constitución. No hay que cansarse de repetir que el agua es esencial para la vida, que hay que gastarla y utilizarla con la debida solidaridad, y que compete a las autoridades conseguir que el respeto por el agua se interiorice; acción esencial dentro del paquete de las que integran la gobernanza junto a la planificación, tan necesaria para conseguir que las acciones que se emprendan para la mejor conservación del agua sean las necesarias, evitando el despilfarro en estudios ociosos y en infraestructuras innecesarias. La gestión del agua necesita de mucha generosidad por parte de todos y, en consecuencia, de gobernantes que no sean partidistas y de gobernados que acepten que todos tienen derecho a disfrutar de un agua de calidad, evitando así las guerras del agua, esas que retratan bien algunas películas del oeste americano. Puede resultar extraño que una asociación profesional aluda, entre otras cosas, a la imperiosa necesidad de evitar el despilfarro en estudios ociosos e infraestructuras inútiles y proclame tajantemente el respeto al medio ambiente, lo que implica que las actuaciones de sus empresas han de ser respetuosas con él. Pero no lo es. Toda empresa que se precie y esté cimentada en valores éticos buscará el beneficio respetando estas cuestiones, dado que la parte nuclear de sus problemas coincide con la de los que aquejan a la sociedad, a las personas. We all know that water is very important but not all of us are aware of this importance beyond turning on the tap. Perhaps because the culture of water, as well as the universal right to access to it and the debate on its price is restricted to a small portion of the population. To speak of water implies going beyond consumption because, after use, it must be treated so that it can be returned in a clean state to rivers, which means it must undergo sanitation and purification. This is essential in order to achieve environmental protection, health guarantees and guarantees regarding the future, so rightly proclaimed and demanded by the Spanish Constitution. We must not tire of repeating that water is essential for life, that it must be consumed and used with due solidarity, and that it is the competence of public authorities to ensure that respect for water is internalised. This is a vital action within a package that combines governance and planning, which is so essential to ensure that the actions taken for enhanced water conservation are the necessary actions and to avoid waste on futile studies and unnecessary infrastructures.Water management requires great generosity on the part of all and, therefore, it requires governors who are not partisan and governed people who accept that all have the right to enjoy quality water, thereby preventing the water wars so well portrayed in American westerns. It might seem strange that a professional association alludes to, amongst other things, the imperious need to avoid waste on futile studies and unnecessary infrastructures, whilst categorically proclaiming the need for respect for the environment, which implies that the actions of the companies it represents must show such respect. But it is not strange. Any self-respecting company founded on ethical values will seek profit while respecting these issues, given that the core of their problems coincides with the core of the problems affecting society, the problems affecting people. Spain still has much work to do in the area of the urban water cycle. Around 90% of population centres have the issue of supply covered, but sometimes the water supplied is not of the quality required, or part of the supply network needs to be renovated to prevent losses, or water is scarce inmany places in times of drought. The sewage network is notoriously old and suffers from significant losses, which can cause pollution of groundwater and affect the supply network and even result in harm to human health.With respect to wastewater treatment, there is still much to be done, bearing in mind the budgetary restrictions that have been in place since 2009. It cannot be that, well into the 21st century, a first world country is subject to the vicissitudes of floods and droughts, and that it still does not treat all its wastewater, when the means and solutions are available to palliate the former and achieve an ESTADO DEL SECTOR DEL AGUA: IDENTIFICACIÓN DE PROBLEMAS Y POSIBLES SOLUCIONES DESDE EL PUNTO DE VISTA EMPRESARIAL Javier Romero de Córdoba, Presidente de la Asociación Española de Empresas de Tecnologías del Agua (ASAGUA) STATE OF WATER SECTOR: IDENTIFICATION OF PROBLEMS AND POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS FROM THE BUSINESS PERSPECTIVE Javier Romero de Córdoba, President of the Spanish Association of Water Technology Companies (ASAGUA) Spain still has much work to do in the area of the urban water cycle España tiene todavía mucha labor que hacer en el campo del ciclo urbano del agua
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