Galicia is leading the way in ecological modernization in the water sector
The Autonomous Community of Galicia has been disclosing to CDP since 2018. For years, Galicia has shown great commitment when it comes to climate adaptation and mitigation as confirmed by its participation to initiatives like the Under2Coalition and Race to Zero.
The Galician Strategic Plan considers climate change to be one of the main challenges which the Galician territories must respond in the coming years. To this end, a target has been set to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030 compared to 1990. To achieve this, a series of priorities for action and strategic objectives have been defined.
The wider environmental, social and economic opportunities and benefits that have emerged as a result of the Galicia Strategic Plan include:
- the promotion of research and development in the field of energy efficiency and renewable energies (resulting in energy savings, improved economic growth and job creation)
- the development of projects that improve the environment and mitigate the effects of climate change, and increase resilience and adaptability to climate-related risks and natural disasters
Data released by the Autonomous Community of Galicia through CDP has also shown that drought and water stress are major risks for the region. Through the questionnaire, we can see that several projects are water related.
The opportunities that have resulted from these projects include:
- improvements in water quality
- dissemination of good practices in water consumption encouraging co-responsibility in water management
- a reduction of pressures on the water environment
- the contribution of all beneficiaries to the system
A concrete project for the management of water is Innovaguas 4.0, a Public Procurement of Innovation (PPI) project. This has been promoted by Augas de Galicia, a public business entity under the Regional Ministry of Infrastructure and Mobility of the Xunta de Galicia for the management of integrated water cycle.
Innovaguas 4.0 allows the automatic and continuous measurement of energy consumption and quality parameters of treated water. Its objectives are to improve water resources and the environment, increase resilience to climate change and incorporate the circular economy model in water management.
Another project contributing to a more efficient and sustainable energy model for Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs) is AQUALITRANS. This is a collaborative project between Aguas de Galicia, the Instituto Enerxético de Galicia (INEGA), the Instituto Tecnológico de Galicia, Águas do Municipio do Porto and the Instituto de Ciência e Inovaçao em Engenharia Mecânica e Engenharia Industrial (INEGI).
The AQUALITRANS project is based on:
- the initial elaboration of an energy consumption research study in different Wastewater Treatment Plants in Galicia and Northern Portugal
- the subsequent development of a pilot project in selected WWTPs to implement the energy optimization measures derived from this study
The main objective is to improve the energy efficiency of the wastewater treatment process at WWTPs, plus:
- ensuring the quality of treated water
- achieving better treatment performance, lower energy consumption and CO2 emissions
- reducing process problems