The water commons: A pioneering public-community partnership for rural resilience: Lessons from one of Europe’s rainiest regions

In Pontevedra, 25% of citizens self-manage groundwater through community boards. However, 70% are unregistered and lack technical capacity – a critical gap as climate change drives summer water shortages. Through +AQUA & +NOVAQUA (EUR 6.2 m), our public-community partnership has reached 1 000+ communities: legalising them, training volunteers and funding infrastructure and digital tools for 32 000 citizens. Like energy communities, this social innovation formalises long-standing traditions to empower users as active resource managers. Join our session to discover a transferable framework for European regions to tackle depopulation, protect aquifers and ensure the human right to safe water.