We are FCC - Nº13

Innovation in wastewater treatment in small towns Customers from the Czech Republic give SmVaK with an outstanding rating The University of Almeria and Aqualia join forces in research on solar energy applied to the water cycle eWoman Salamanca highlights the role of women Award of the operation and maintenance contract for the desalination plant in Fonsalía (Tenerife) RUN4Life, home solutions to fight climate change The European LIFE INTEXT project, which has been presented at the Town Hall of Talavera de la Reina (Toledo), will implement a pilot plant with 16 different hybrid technologies. The project is articulated through a Consortium of 9 partners from 5 European countries, has a budget of al - most 3 million euros, is financed 55% by the European Union and will be developed during 4 years in Talavera la Reina (Toledo), in collaboration with the Centre for New Water Technologies (CENTA). Aqualia, the city’s water management company, is leading the project that will put Talavera at the forefront of sustai - nable wastewater treatment technology and techniques. SmVaK, Aqualia’s Czech subsidiary, has just conducted its regular customer satisfaction surveys and has obtained outstanding results, with scores exce - eding 9.2 for institutional and industrial customers. As for end customers, 92% of them consider the quality of the wa - ter in the region to be good and 94% think that SmVaK manages the full wa - ter cycle well. It should also be noted that the level of satisfaction with the work carried out by the company’s employees is 99%. The University of Almeria and Aqualia have signed a collaboration agreement to carry out joint dissemination, re - search and transfer activities in the field of the integral water cycle through the Solar Energy Research Centre, CIE - SOL. The objectives of the agreement, which is in force for four years, include the integration of solar energy into the processes of the integral water cycle, with special em - phasis on treatment with microalgae, regeneration with solar energy, the use of energy from wastewater, energy optimisation in desalination and purification, and the pu - rification of water by means of solar disinfection. E-Woman, the event focused on women’s empowerment, was attended in its second edition by more than 200 peo - ple, including the main personalities of Salamanca’s poli - tics and society led by Carlos Garcia Carbayo, the mayor of Salamanca, who opened the event. Emilia Soto, head of Zone I Management Systems, took part on behalf of Aqualia. In her speech she reviewed her professional ca - reer at Aqualia Since 2005, she has been working at the drinking water treatment plant. Consejo Insular de Aguas de Tenerife (The Tenerife Island Water Board, CIA - TF) has awarded Aqualia the contract to provide service for operation, mainte - nance and conservation of the regional seawater desalination system in western Tenerife. The company’s offer was chosen by CIATF as the most advantageous of all those that opted for it from a technical and economic point of view. The management will be prolonged for two years with the possibility of exten - sion up to a total of four years. The scope of the contract covers not only the management of the Fonsalía desalina - tion plant, with a production capacity of 14,000 m3/d, but also the entire regional system that will enable this water to be supplied to the municipalities of Santiago del Teide, Guía de Isora and Adeje, as well as to cover the demand of the agricultural sector in the area. Aqualia presented the ad - vances of the Run4Life project after two years of development at the Porto Do Molle Business Cen - tre in Nigrán (Pontevedra). The mayor of the municipali - ty, Juan Antonio González, and the delegate of the Vigo Free Trade Zone, David Regades, participated in the mee - ting and highlighted the great impetus given to Nigrán by hosting a pioneering purification project in Europe with developments, already on a large scale, in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Sweden. The Run4Life project propo - ses a wastewater treatment system without the need for connection to the sewage network. The plant, operated by Aqualia, is located in the basement of the Zona Franca building, which is equipped with a decentralised collection system that allows for the reuse of 100% of its grey water and the production of fertilisers, water for irrigation and biogas. B R I E F - W A T E R 60 WATER B R I E F