The world faces an unavoidable challenge: the climate crisis and growing water scarcity threaten the security of communities, industries, and ecosystems. In the Mediterranean, Andalusia symbolizes this urgency: millions of cubic meters of water are lost every year due to treatment inefficiencies and technical limitations, a volume equivalent to the annual consumption of tens of thousands of households. In this scenario, the San Roque reuse plant, equipped with reverse osmosis, is a strategic asset to turn risk into resilience.
The strategic objective of the project is to transform a process with high costs and losses into a stable source of regenerated water by optimizing antiscalant dosing through AWC technology. This intervention not only reduces chemical and energy consumption but also unlocks more available flow, avoiding brine discharges and improving permeate quality. In numbers, the project expects to recover up to 15% additional treated water and reduce up to 30% of contaminant inputs, equivalent to the annual consumption of more than 5,000 households in the region.
The current water reuse market in Spain reflects underutilized potential: less than 15% of treated water is reused, despite the growing pressure on Mediterranean basins. This project aims to reverse that trend, demonstrating that optimizing existing processes can deliver immediate and scalable benefits.
Located in San Roque (Cádiz), within the Andalusian Mediterranean Basin, the project responds to extreme pressure on the basin and to European regulatory requirements on reuse. Its raison d’être is clear: to ensure that each cubic meter treated generates economic, environmental, and social value, under the principles of additionality, traceability, and intentionality defined in VWBA 2.0.
Stakeholders include the plant operator, technology provider AWC, digitalization partners, and the external verification entity. Together they ensure governance, traceability, and validation of results. This solution is positioned as a replicable model in other reuse plants across the Mediterranean. Beyond efficiency, it is a transformative vision: making San Roque a Water Positive benchmark, where every regenerated drop becomes an asset for the region and an inspiring story of water innovation.
Currently, the San Roque reuse plant with reverse osmosis faces high operating costs and risk of technical shutdowns due to fouling, leading to overuse of antiscalants, frequent purges, and higher than optimal electricity consumption. The project introduces predictive models and process intelligence to adjust chemical dosing in real time, ensuring precise and efficient application.
The technical opportunity arises from the possibility of significantly optimizing treatment efficiency: a 10, 15% optimization in flow recovery and a 20, 30% reduction in chemical consumption are expected, translating into lower energy expenditure, regeneration of high-quality water, and reduced brine discharges. In the short term, immediate OPEX savings and operational stability are achieved; in the medium term, membrane life extension and waste reduction; and in the long term, water resilience and compliance with local Water Positive commitments.
The current technical problem is low performance due to scaling and membrane fouling, which leads to water losses, high consumption, and polluting discharges, aggravated by structural causes such as the hardness of feed water, variability in influent quality, and increasingly strict EU reuse regulations.
The initiative is made possible through collaboration between AWC as technology developer, plant operators, and strategic partners providing digital expertise. This model is replicable across multiple reuse facilities in the Mediterranean and acting now is critical in the face of water scarcity and new European efficiency standards. Industrial companies with ambitious sustainability goals in energy, retail, or manufacturing will find in this project a solution that strengthens their ESG commitments, improves visibility, and provides competitive differentiation, in addition to economic returns from cost savings and reputational gains as water innovation leaders.
Technical implementation is structured in complementary phases integrating digital, chemical, and operational solutions. The first stage deploys AWC chemical modeling technology, capable of calculating saturation indices and precisely predicting scaling potential. This modeling feeds an online IoT sensor system (conductivity, SDI, flow meters) that automatically adjusts antiscalant dosing, ensuring optimal balance between membrane protection and reduced inputs. The third layer involves predictive maintenance protocols, minimizing chemical cleanings, extending equipment lifespan, and ensuring operational continuity.
Alternatives such as increasing cleaning frequency or using membranes with higher chemical tolerance were evaluated but discarded due to higher cost, environmental footprint, and low replicability. The hybrid solution—optimized chemistry, digitalization, and process intelligence—was chosen for its ability to deliver up to 15% more flow recovery and 30% less chemical use. Operational capacity is estimated at several thousand m³/day of high-quality reused water for industrial and municipal purposes.
Identified risks include technological failures in sensors, variability in feed water quality, or social rejection of brine discharges. Mitigation measures include redundant measurement systems, supply contingency plans, and shared governance with local authorities. Long-term resilience is ensured through adaptive protocols for prolonged droughts and potential saline intrusions, with periodic quality audits.
The technical justification is solid: the project solves the scaling problem that limits efficiency, reduces energy and chemical consumption, and complies with the European regulatory framework. It was selected based on proven efficiency, cost-effectiveness, regional replicability, and alignment with the Water Positive strategy, meeting the principles of additionality, traceability, and intentionality.
Quantifiable benefits include thousands of m³/year of recovered water, significant reduction in indirect emissions, and reduced pollutants in discharges. Social benefits include greater water security, community trust, and creation of local technical jobs; economic benefits include lower OPEX, operational resilience, and improved ESG positioning.
Given its digital and replicable nature, the solution can be scaled to other Mediterranean basins, urban plants, and industrial facilities. It requires favorable reuse regulations, real-time data availability, and public-private partnerships to enable investment and monitoring. Its competitiveness lies in the cost/benefit indicator per m³ recovered compared to more chemical- or energy-intensive alternatives, making San Roque a regional benchmark in water innovation.
Implementation will take place in phased stages, combining technical and digital interventions under an adaptive scheme. The first stage is the diagnosis, establishing the baseline with measurements of chemical consumption, feed water quality (SDI, conductivity, nutrients), cleaning frequency, and energy parameters. This stage will last three months and include laboratory tests and sensor calibration.
The second stage is the pilot design and installation, where AWC modeling software will be integrated, and dosing parameters adjusted in one membrane train, with a horizon of six months. MID flow meters, quality probes, IoT sensors, and SCADA will be incorporated to control the process.
Next is the scaling stage, deploying across the entire plant with full IoT sensor integration and VWBA digital traceability protocols. This phase will last nine months and will enable the nominal capacity of several thousand m³/day with expected performance of up to 15% increased useful flow and 30% reduction in chemicals.
The fourth stage is commissioning and validation, where external audits and independent verifiers will be applied, contrasting KPIs against the without-project scenario. Measured indicators will include m³/year of recovered water, % reduction in chemicals and energy, and permeate quality. Data will be collected monthly online and quarterly in laboratories, complemented by VWBA (A-2) balances and digital reports.
The system will feature physical traceability of water from intake to permeate output and digital traceability through SCADA, IoT platform, and blockchain reports, with alarms in case of deviations. Preventive and corrective maintenance protocols will be applied, with roles defined among technical operator, technology provider, external verifier, and regulatory authority, and clear governance agreements on the use of regenerated water.
Finally, a monitoring and continuous improvement scheme will be established, including VWBA/WQBA monitoring, permanent comparison between with- and without-project scenarios, data feedback for adjustments, and periodic technological updates. In this way, the permanence of environmental, social, and economic benefits is ensured over time.
The San Roque project seeks to optimize a reuse plant with reverse osmosis through intelligent antiscalant dosing. The main intervention is technological and digital: it integrates AWC chemical modeling, IoT instrumentation, flow meters, quality probes, and SCADA to achieve greater water recovery, lower chemical use, and energy savings. The system can operate several thousand m³/day, with an expected increase of 10, 15% in useful flow and a 20, 30% reduction in chemical inputs, in compliance with European reuse regulations, the EU Water Framework Directive, ISO 14046 water footprint, and ISO 50001 energy efficiency standards.
Its relevance lies in the baseline situation of chemical overuse, risk of shutdowns, and high energy costs. The solution delivers optimized and sustainable operation, reducing losses, indirect emissions, and contaminants in discharges. In the hydrological and social context of severe water stress in the Andalusian Mediterranean Basin, the solution is appropriate because it reduces pressure on external sources, ensures quality, and strengthens climate resilience in the region.
Concrete results include thousands of m³/year of additional reused water, improved permeate quality (lower conductivity and salt load), and reduced pollutants in discharges. Additional benefits include a lower carbon footprint, emission reductions, social trust in reuse, and operational security for local industry.
Strategically, the project contributes to the Water Positive roadmap and aligns with VWBA 2.0 under the principles of additionality, traceability, and intentionality. It provides tangible ESG benefits: social license to operate, regulatory compliance, positive reputation, and competitive differentiation, in addition to integration with global commitments such as SBTi, NPWI, SDGs, and ESRS E3.
Due to its hybrid and digital nature, it is replicable in reuse plants in Spain, Mediterranean basins, and water-intensive industrial sectors. Scalability is ensured through reuse regulatory frameworks, social acceptance, and public-private partnerships.
The final impact is reflected in a more favorable water balance for the basin, resilience to climate change, creation of local technical employment, community strengthening, and improved public health. For investors, clients, and society, the message is clear: this project represents innovation, responsibility, and leadership in the transition toward a regenerative economy.
