Microsoft Boosts Water Replenishment Work With Partnership In Madrid

Microsoft has boosted its water replenishment work with a new partnership, which aims to collect rainwater from a new development in Madrid.

The technology giant has teamed up with Dutch start-up FieldFactors to capture up to 200 million liters of stormwater run-off annually at the Solana de Valdebebas development. which will be replenished into the local Valdebebas stream, a tributary of the Jarama River.

The rainwater will be collected through the start-up’s BlueBloqs sustainable drainage system.

The collected water will then be treated using advanced biofiltration technology to high standards before being discharged into the Valdebebas stream.

The co-founder and chief executive of FieldFactors Karina Peña said its approach focuses on locally capturing, treating, and storing rainwater, for reuse or to return to natural bodies of water in a statement.

Peña added the approach also safeguards cities from flooding and heat stress, conserves freshwater resources, strengthens water resilience, and encourages biodiversity.

Water quality data will also be collected by the system to confirm that regulatory standards will be met and provides valuable information for further analysis.

The G-Aqua Research Group of Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) will also assist in the design of the stormwater harvesting and nature-based treatment strategy, as well as monitoring the water quality results.

Microsoft’s water lead, Eliza Roberts said it is now involved with more than 90 water replenishment and access projects in 25 priority locations in an interview.

Roberts added Microsoft is partnering with a range of start-ups, non-profits and private organisations to deliver these projects around the world.

“We serve as customer zero for many of the start-ups we are partnering with on the replenishment front, and our goal is to not just build scale for ourselves, but also for our customers and for the world,” she told me.

Roberts pointed to the water replenishment work Microsoft undertaken initially in London with FIDO Tech, which involved AI-led leak detection, and was subsequently extended to include projects in Phoenix, Arizona, Queretaro, Mexico, and Las Vegas, Nevada.

“We are helping to tackle water loss from leaks in piped systems across the globe and helping our partners scale their impact,” she added.

“We recognize that replenishing more than you consume is not enough. At Microsoft, we have five key pillars – reduce, replenish, increase access, drive innovation and engage in water policy. And all of those together will enable us to achieve our water positive goal.

“We have already achieved our water access target to provide water access and sanitation solutions to more than 1.5 million people across the globe.

She added Microsoft is also working to ensure data center operations, which can use a lot of water, operate as efficiently as possible.

This includes allowing data centers to operate at a higher temperature, so they do not need as much water to cool them.

“We are also looking to increase recycling and reuse across our data centers and our campuses, which includes procuring reclaimed and recycled water and repurposing every drop within a data center as many times as we can before it is discharged.”

The senior vice president and chief sustainability officer at water conservation company Ecolab, Emilio Tenuta said the convergence of AI and escalating water scarcity demands unprecedented collaboration from both the public and private sector in email.

Tenuta added partnerships with tech leaders like Microsoft are no longer optional and said they are “essential to securing a sustainable water future”.

“This isn’t just about conservation; it’s about building a future where water security drives economic prosperity,” added Tenuta.

“Ecolab has also taken a similar strategic approach to Microsoft in how we’re partnering with other entities – such as those involved in the Water Resource Coalition – who emphasize the importance of collaboration and collective commitment both domestically and internationally.”