Through this strategic pillar, Ecopetrol seeks to offset the remaining water consumption footprint by implementing solutions based on nature and natural climate solutions, that contribute to the recovery, conservation, and improvement of water resources, as well as reducing the gap in access to drinking water and sanitation in areas where we operate.

Natural capital management

During 2022, based on voluntary and mandatory actions, 22,974 hectares were intervened in conservation, including through conservation agreements signed with communities, 230 hectares planted or in the restoration process, 17,720 hectares protected through different figures of conservation, and 15,085 hectares included in the Eco-reserves Network. Additionally, 91 kilometers of surface water bodies were protected.

Within the agreement signed with the Regional Autonomous Corporation of Santander - CAS, whose purpose is to "Develop immediate and preventive actions in the short term aimed to recover the San Silvestre’s swamp and water stream, defining the early investment plan and implement the Management Plans guidelines for SINAP areas to the San Silvestre Wetland DRMI"; progress was made in the execution of the following activities:

• Elaboration of the physical, biotic, and social environmental diagnosis of the San Silvestre’s swamp and water stream.
• Progress in the cleaning, collection and disposal of floating plant material and solid waste present inside the San Silvestre swamp and tributaries in the prioritized areas.
• Design of a proposal for normative agreements that regulate the use and management of the San Silvestre swamp.
• Proposal for the creation of a governance scheme for participation, articulation, and management of the complex.
• Proposal for the priority early investment plan for the recovery of the San Silvestre swamp.

Access to drinking water and sanitation

Ecopetrol aims to benefit 1,329,704 people with access to drinking water and basic sanitation by 2024. By December 2022, 798,110 people have been benefited, representing 60% of this goal. In January 2022, the execution of subproject 1 of the Cúcuta Metropolitan Aqueduct was completed, which included the construction of a new adduction and impulsion line that allow to improve the conditions of continuity and quality of the aqueduct service in the urban area of the municipality of Cúcuta (Norte de Santander).

Similarly, 5 projects are being executed that will benefit more than 520.000 people in the next years: 

• Sub-projects 2 and 3 of the Metropolitan Aqueduct of Cúcuta, which will improve the conditions of access to drinking water in the municipalities of Villa del Rosario and Los Patios (Norte de Santander)
• Construction of the Wastewater Treatment Plant (PTAR) San Silvestre in Barrancabermeja (Santander), 
• Construction of the sludge treatment system of the urban aqueduct of the District of Barrancabermeja
• Construction of the drinking water treatment plant of the municipality of Guamal (Meta) Optimization of the aqueduct system of Altos de Pompeya in Villavicencio Meta 
• Implementation of 4 individual solutions for purifying water in educational institutions in the municipality of Puerto Wilches (Santander) through the “Water for education, Education for Water” program in partnership with Fundación EPM.

In addition, in 2022 a new agreement was signed with the Public Services Company of La Guajira and the municipality of Manaure (La Guajira) for the construction of 1 water production module and 6 public fountains that will improve the access to drinking water for more than 13.500 inhabitants of the Wayú community of the Middle and Alto Guajira Indigenous Reservation. In the same way, a specific agreement was signed with the Municipality of Villa del Rosario Norte de Santander and the municipal public service company EICVIRO for the optimization of the drinking water distribution networks in the urban area; this project will contribute to reduce the technical losses of the system by improving the pressure and continuity of the service to more than 3.470 inhabitants.

Seeking to strength the capacity of territorial entities in the formulation and structuration of projects through the provision of technical assistance for the development of studies and designs, Ecopetrol completed 3 studies and designs of aqueduct systems that benefit about 11.894 people:

• Studies and designs for the construction of the PTAP in the village of Altamira Puerto López (Meta).
• Studies and designs for the expansion of the aqueduct system of the urban area of Castilla La Nueva and the connection to the village of Sabanas del Rosario Castilla La Nueva (Meta) - Phase 1.
• Studies and designs for the construction of the aqueduct systems in the villages of Puerto Triunfo, Santa Helena and La Florida Puerto Gaitán (Meta).

In 2022 we continued our agreement with the National Government to promote social investment strategies aiming to close the water access gaps in rural areas. Similarly, seeking to strengthen and reduce the times of our interventions in the territory, progress was made in the management of alliances with Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), international cooperation and private companies, who have vast experience in the implementation of water and sanitation solutions adjusted to the needs of the territory, including the Colombian Red Cross Society, Action Against Hunger, The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations - FAO, ARGOS Foundation and the Colombian Association of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering - ACODAL.“

Water planning and governance

This topic seeks to have a positive impact on the territorial ordering, planning and management of water resources in the company's areas of interest.

For Ecopetrol it is important to support and be part on the work related to water security carried out by international, national, and regional organization, through the following initiatives:

CEO Water Mandate

Since 2014, Ecopetrol has been publicly committed to sustainable water management through its adherence to the CEO Water Mandate initiative, promoted by the United Nations Global Compact. Currently, the water security initiatives promoted by Ecopetrol are part of the global platform for collaboration and knowledge exchange for water sustainability and climate resilience -Water Action Hub.

Water for Colombia Coalition

Since 2018, Ecopetrol has been part of to the promoter group of the Water for Colombia Coalition, a multisectoral national initiative that seeks to improve the water security of 15 sub-basins, which together represent an area where 48% of the National GDP is produced and where 43% of the population lives. Currently, Ecopetrol is part of the working groups: corporate standards, public policies, and technology and innovation.

Water Governance Mechanism

Taking into account the analysis of water security situation in the municipalities of Villavicencio and Acacias in the Department of Meta, and the feasibility study for implementing a multisectoral collective action platform, in collaboration with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and ASORINOQUIA, the creation of the Mechanism’s Promoter Group was led, with the participation of 16 public and private entities, which expressed their interest in being part of this mechanism, to solve water security challenges presented by the supply basins of the municipalities of Villavicencio and Acacías. With these entities and others that will be linked during 2022, the process of formulating the Strategic Plan will begin, to determine the interventions in Nature-Based Solutions (NbS), that must be carried out in the short and medium term, to ensure the availability of water required to all actors present in the territory.

In addition, an analysis of water security situation was also carried out in the sub-basins of the Opón and Sogamoso rivers and the middle and lower basins of the Lebrija river in the department of Santander, to identify collective action alternatives for water security management in the Middle Magdalena Valley.

Environmental baseline of hydrological and water quality data for the Middle Magdalena Valley (VMM)

In alliance with IDEAM, the update and monitoring of surface water resources state are being carried out, as well as the generation of hydrometeorological and water quality alerts in the Middle Magdalena Valley. Following achievements were reached during 2021:

• Strengthening of the Regional Center for Hydrometeorological Forecasting and Monitoring and Surface Water Quality of Santander (CRPMH for its initial in Spanish) of the Middle Magdalena Valley.
• Historical behavior and current state of water resources in the hydrographic subzones of the Opón, Sogamoso and Lebrija rivers.
• Generation of daily bulletins of hydrometeorological alerts in the Middle Valley of Magdalena.
• Isotopic composition of precipitation for surface and underground flow systems in the Middle Magdalena Valley area.
• Diagnosis of the Hydrometeorological and Surface Water Quality Monitoring, Forecast and Alert System of the Regional Autonomous Corporation of Santander – CAS
• Strengthening of the technical capacity of the Regional Autonomous Corporation of Santander - CAS in the monitoring of surface water resources.

Water planning

During 2022, Ecopetrol continued monitoring the basin management processes. We have interest in 111 hydrographic, of which 41 have an approved POMCA, nine (9) are in the stage of formulation, two (2) are in the publicity stage and 59 have not yet been prioritized by the environmental authorities to be ordered. It is important to note that the adopted POMCAS are considered in the environmental feasibility processes.

In addition, Ecopetrol is part of eight (8) river basin councils: Sogamoso, Opón, Cocorná, Lebrija Medio, Guavio, Cusiana and Negro.

During 2022, Ecopetrol participated in the working groups organized by the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development - MADS in conjunction with ANDI and ACP, to update the POMCAS guidelines, which has not yet been completed.

Ecopetrol, in conjunction with the MADS, finished the phase 2 of the study for the establishment of a methodology to delimitate wetlands at a scale of 1:25,000 based on the national proposal of 1:100,000 scale (Version 3 of the map of Wetlands of Colombia, MDAS-February 2021), and it was successfully applied in the area of interest of the municipality of Puerto Wilches.

Likewise, Ecopetrol completed the update of the zoning and Environmental Management Plan of the DRMI San Silvestre Wetland, developed within the framework of the Agreement between the CAS and ECOPETROL, through the San Silvestre Wetland Consortium; This process was adopted by the Board of Directors of the Regional Autonomous Corporation of Santander - CAS by agreement 045 of July 27, 2022.

Water Footprint

Ecopetrol uses the water footprint methodology in direct operation assets based on the ISO 14046:2014 standard and the Water Footprint Network WFN, which allows to identify impacts and demonstrate the benefits of reducing the pressure on water resources, due to the implementation of actions related to operational efficiency in water management, and decarbonization and circular economy initiatives. Likewise, based on the analysis of the indirect water footprint, those raw materials that contribute the most to the impact have been identified, as well as those suppliers of goods and services that could adopt initiatives to reduce the risks associated with water.

This methodology is based on the following impact indicators:

1. Consumption footprint: extracted fresh water that evaporates, incorporates into the product, or is not returned to the basin.
2. Water scarcity footprint: impact of water consumption with respect to available fresh water.
3. Degradation footprint: deterioration of the quality of fresh water due to the contribution of polluting substances. This footprint also allows the identification of priority substances in discharges*, through the indicators of:

• Human toxicity: based on the USEtox model, it evaluates the danger of wastewater discharges in terms of carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic toxicity for humans (CTUh)
• Ecotoxicity in freshwater: based on the USEtox model, it evaluates various toxicological mechanisms caused by the release of substances with a direct effect on the health of the ecosystem in (CTUe).
• Ecotoxicity of seawater: based on the Recipe model.
• Acidification of fresh water: based on the Accumulated Surplus AE model, it evaluates the affectation of fresh water due to the release into the atmosphere of NOx, SOx and NH3 that could cause acid rainwater.

In 2022 ICONTEC verified the water footprint calculations for La Cira - Infantas and Castilla oil Fields, as well as the Cartagena and Barrancabermeja Refineries, declaring the compliance with the requirements established by the NTC-ISO 14046 standard; Therefore, Ecopetrol has become the first company in the hydrocarbons sector to verify its water footprint. 

Water management in the supply chain

During 2021, the categories of goods and services that are most relevant for water management were prioritized, to adjust the requirements established through the green clauses, as well as define criteria regarding the management of water resources during the provision of services, and the selection of suppliers, to leverage the achievement of the company goals in the SosTECnibilidad agenda.

Furthermore, based on the analysis of the indirect water scarcity footprint, some suppliers have been selected to adopt initiatives to reduce their water related risks.

It is important to highlight that the volumes of withdrawals and consumptions of water by suppliers that provide services at Ecopetrol facilities are included in figures reported by the company. Similarly, management of discharges generated by these suppliers is carried out through the company's treatment and disposal alternatives for wastewater.

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