KREAN has signed the contract to provide technical assistance for the drafting of the Bilbao Bizkaia Water Consortium's Water Reuse Promotion Plan, included in the UrData Bizkaia I project, financed with funds from the NEXT GENERATION EU recovery and resilience mechanism.
This plan will comply with Royal Decree-Law 4/2023 of 11 May, which establishes that the public administrations responsible for water supply, sanitation and treatment in urban areas with more than 50,000 inhabitants must submit, before 31 December 2028, plans to promote the reuse of water associated with urban uses, as provided for in the Water Law. Following the publication of this Royal Decree, Royal Decree 1085/2024 of 22 October was published, approving the Water Reuse Regulations and amending various royal decrees regulating water management.
The scope of the work of the Bilbao Bizkaia Water Consortium Plan will be to analyse and propose solutions to promote the use of reclaimed water in the three agglomerations corresponding to the three WWTPs with more than 50,000 population equivalents, which are: the Galindo WWTP in Sestao, which serves Greater Bilbao (1,200,000 inhabitants), the Lamiaran WWTP in Bermeo, serving 60,000 inhabitants, and the Arriandi WWTP in Iurreta, serving 86,000 inhabitants.
KREAN will carry out a detailed diagnosis of the current situation regarding water reuse, analysing existing infrastructure, current uses and the potential for expansion of this resource. Based on this analysis, it will draw up a proposal for measures and an evaluation of alternatives. On this basis, it will develop a proposal for strategies and an action plan aimed at promoting the use of reclaimed water, ensuring its long-term viability and sustainability. This plan will also include a preview of the Reclaimed Water Risk Management Plan.
Climate change and increasing water scarcity, together with growing awareness of the circular economy, have led the European Union to ask water managers for a plan to determine how much water they can reuse and its possible destination.
Reclaimed water is treated wastewater that has been purified to remove impurities and contaminants, making it suitable for new non-potable uses. The regulations establish the possible uses of reclaimed water, defining four main categories: agriculture, industrial use (cooling, air conditioning, steam generation, facility cleaning), park irrigation and urban cleaning, and others, such as firefighting systems, public works, etc.
In this area of expertise, KREAN has its own model, called URAGUA for structuring wastewater reuse projects based on the creation of water communities that need this water for agricultural, urban or industrial use by local companies, an innovative and sustainable solution that combines engineering and structuring expertise.
