Ever stopped to think about where Barcelona gets its water? Welcome to the Museu Agbar de les Aigües a place dedicated to answering that very question. This isn’t just a museum it is a journey through Barcelona’s water history.
The Museu Agbar de les Aigües stands as a testament to the city’s industrial heritage. It is housed in a former fresh water pumping station in Cornellà de Llobregat. The Museu Agbar de les Aigües is an anchor point on the European Route of Industrial Heritage.
Let’s step back in time to 1861. Josep Serra i Batlle a textile factory owner saw potential in Cornellà’s land rich with groundwater. Later in 1867 Manuel Guteras secured a concession to extract water building a steam-powered pumping station. Fast forward to 1904. A severe drought prompted expansion. Architect Josep Amargós i Samaranch designed the new facilities. By 1909 the expanded central pumping station could process 33000 cubic meters of water per day. In 1910 a 50-meter chimney was added. Steam power was finally replaced by electricity in 1948 due to shortages caused by the Spanish Civil War.
In 2001 the Agbar Foundation commissioned the architectural team 2BMFG to transform the site into a museum. Museu Agbar de les Aigües opened its doors in June 2004. The Museu Agbar de les Aigües received the Bonaplata Prize in 2009 for its rehabilitation. In 2010 it won the Micheletti Prize from the European Museum Forum.
The permanent exhibition is housed in Josep Amargós’s modernist building. Its walls are made of exposed brick with decorative elements and large windows. The building comprises three main areas: the Boiler Room the Electricity Room and the Machine Room.
In the Boiler Room you can still see two of the original six boilers. These boilers burned coal to heat water creating steam. The Electricity Room features a cylinder where steam pressure moved a piston. This motion powered a 10-ton flywheel connected to a dynamo generating electricity. The Machine Room showcases the pumping equipment. Originally water was sent to elevated reservoirs in Esplugues and Sant Pere Màrtir. Today you can see one of the original steam-powered pumps alongside modern electric pumps.
Outside the Museu Agbar de les Aigües stands the 50-meter chimney used to vent smoke from coal combustion. Nine wells on the site extract groundwater from the Llobregat River aquifer. The oldest well dating back to 1905 is a French-made Fives Lille.
The Museu Agbar de les Aigües also features compensation tanks. The most iconic is the Circular Tank built in 1953-1954 with a capacity of 2000 cubic meters. It has a circular plan and a dome-shaped roof. Since 2003 a larger tank replaced it.
The surrounding park features native flora such as pines oaks cypresses and poplars. You’ll also find fruit trees and ornamental species like eucalyptus and Himalayan cedars. Since 2019 the park includes a waterfall originally designed by Antoni Gaudí for Casa Vicens. The Museu Agbar de les Aigües waterfall uses recycled water.
The Museu Agbar de les Aigües is more than just a museum it is a place to think about water. It is a place to understand the integral cycle of water and its role in urban development.