In a world marked by climate crisis, resource depletion, and growing competition for water, Liaoning Province faces an emblematic challenge: sustaining its industrial development without compromising the water ecosystems that make it possible. The region, historically dependent on coal mining, is undergoing a decisive transition toward cleaner energy and production models. In this context, the Liaoning Datang International Fuxin Water Co., Ltd. Water Plant Project emerges as a bold response to an unavoidable global and local challenge: transforming the way water is managed, treated, and reused in high-demand industrial environments.
Located in the western subdistrict of Ping’an, Haizhou District, Fuxin City, this water complex represents one of the most significant strategic investments of the national coal-to-gas conversion program. With a total investment of 164 million yuan (118 million for the plant and 46 million for the reclaimed water network), its impact goes beyond infrastructure: it redefines the concept of water security in regions of extreme stress. Through a 36.8 km aqueduct connecting the Baishui Reservoir with industries in the Fuxin energy corridor and a complementary 35 km reclaimed water network, the system can move 100,000 m³ per day, equivalent to the consumption of a city of more than 600,000 inhabitants.
The purpose of the project is to anticipate the future of industrial water management by creating a reuse and zero-discharge system, where every liter treated returns to the production cycle with controlled quality. Its strategic objective is to build a regional platform of water and energy resilience that drives a circular and technological water economy. This project not only reduces the extraction of natural sources by more than 90% but also introduces a new logic in the relationship between industry and environment: water ceases to be a consumable and becomes regenerative capital.
The development is driven by a coordinated ecosystem of actors: the public-industrial operator Datang Fuxin Water Co. Ltd., high-efficiency treatment technology providers, local water management authorities, and verification entities applying the VWBA 2.0 methodology to measure Volumetric Water Benefits (VWB). Thanks to this traceability, every regenerated cubic meter translates into a tangible and verifiable benefit for the basin. The project fully complies with the principles of additionality, intentionality, and traceability that define the Water Positive strategy, ensuring that the water benefits generated are real, measurable, and sustainable over time.
The project arises in response to the structural water deficit affecting the Fuxin region, an area where groundwater reserves are degraded and surface water quality shows high levels of industrial pollution. In this context, the plant represents a comprehensive solution to reduce pressure on aquifers through the reuse of treated wastewater and the implementation of a closed recirculation system.
The project’s core technology includes coagulation, sedimentation, filtration, and chemical desalination processes, complemented by a multi-effect evaporation and crystallization unit scheduled for commissioning in December 2025. This structure achieves a zero-discharge operating model in which all effluents are treated and reused within the industrial system. The solution increases water efficiency, lowers operating costs, and generates tangible environmental benefits aligned with corporate sustainability goals and ESG compliance.
The project falls under the category of gray infrastructure with hybrid digital management components, adopting the VWBA 2.0 methodology to quantify water and environmental benefits. Its technical solution combines high-efficiency physicochemical processes with advanced control and monitoring technologies, enabling full reuse of industrial wastewater. The plant incorporates coagulation systems, membrane filtration, chemical desalination, and multi-effect evaporation, complemented by continuous monitoring via SCADA network and multiparameter sensors. These tools ensure treatment capable of transforming more than 100,000 m³ of water per day, equivalent to 36 million m³ per year, into a regenerated resource that reduces natural source extraction by over 90%.
During implementation, stages are structured into initial diagnosis, technical design, construction, commissioning, and result verification. The diagnostic phase established the hydrological baseline, identifying risks of climatic variability, pollution, and aquifer depletion. The design stage defined redundant systems, safety storage, and emergency valves ensuring operational continuity even during supply interruptions. During construction and operation, digital control, SCADA automation, and predictive maintenance protocols prevent critical failures such as corrosion, saline intrusion, or efficiency loss due to scaling. Shared governance with local authorities strengthens social acceptance and guarantees transparency in data traceability.
The technical model was chosen after evaluating alternatives such as MBR or constructed wetlands, with the current combination selected for its ability to operate at large scale, low energy consumption, and regulatory compliance in zero discharge. Its hybrid nature, gray in infrastructure and digital in control, provides resilience to hydrological variability and ensures replicability. Expected benefits include recovery of 36 million m³ of water per year, significant reduction of CO₂ emissions associated with freshwater transport, 15% energy savings, improved regional water quality, and strengthened water security in the Baishui reservoir basin.
Social benefits include the creation of specialized jobs, reduction of health risks from pollution, and generation of transferable technical knowledge for other regions. Economically, the project anticipates a 20% reduction in operating costs and achievement of ESG and Water Positive certifications, strengthening the reputation of stakeholders. This model is fully scalable to other industrial basins with similar constraints, combining financial viability, technical modularity, and cooperative governance. By aligning with the principles of additionality, traceability, and intentionality of the Water Positive framework, each recovered cubic meter represents a real and verifiable benefit for long-term water sustainability.
Project implementation follows a phased approach based on the VWBA 2.0 methodology, divided into six interdependent stages: diagnosis, design, installation, commissioning, validation, and continuous operation. Each stage is structured with technical efficiency, digital traceability, and environmental risk control criteria.
The diagnostic phase characterized hydrology and water quality, establishing the baseline of available volumes, losses, and contaminant concentrations. Flow, BOD, COD, TSS, conductivity, and TDS data were collected using multiparameter sensors and certified laboratory sampling. This information defined improvement thresholds and initial KPIs, including recovered m³/day, reuse percentage, and net consumption reduction.
During technical design, the optimal combination of technologies, coagulation, membrane filtration, chemical desalination, and multi-effect evaporation, was selected, prioritizing energy efficiency, modularity, and zero-discharge regulatory compliance. Online control instruments, ultrasonic flowmeters, and quality probes connected to a SCADA and IoT network supervise parameters in real time. The nominal capacity is set at 100,000 m³/day with an expected recovery and reuse efficiency of 90%.
The installation stage included construction of the main plant, equipment assembly, pipeline installation, and integration of the digital monitoring system. Commissioning involved hydraulic tests, flow validation, sensor calibration, and water balance verification. The validation phase included independent technical and environmental audits ensuring results meet VWBA standards for traceability and additionality.
Continuous operation is governed by collaborative governance among the operator Datang Fuxin Water Co. Ltd., basin authorities, and external verifiers. Preventive maintenance is organized quarterly with inspections, cleanings, and calibrations, while predictive maintenance relies on data analysis and automatic SCADA alarms for deviations. Alarms trigger for flow, pressure, pH, or conductivity variations, activating contingency and redundancy protocols.
Physical water traceability is ensured through flow control from capture to delivery, with digitized and georeferenced volumetric balance. Digital traceability relies on the SCADA-IoT platform, generating automatic reports and storing auditable records, complemented by third-party certification. Data are reported monthly and consolidated in quarterly performance reports.
The monitoring plan continuously compares with- and without-project scenarios, evaluating efficiency, water quality, and energy savings. Continuous improvement mechanisms include feedback loops to control systems, chemical process optimization, sensor technology updates, and annual VWBA indicator reviews. This adaptive approach allows operational adjustment to climate variability and ensures system sustainability over the long term.
The Liaoning Datang International Fuxin Water Co., Ltd. Water Plant Project is an advanced water engineering intervention focused on the integral reuse of industrial effluents and the achievement of a zero-discharge model. Technically, the intervention is based on a hybrid treatment system combining physicochemical and thermal processes: coagulation, sedimentation, filtration, chemical desalination, and multi-effect evaporation. With a nominal capacity of 100,000 m³ per day, equivalent to 36 million m³ annually, the plant can treat, regenerate, and reinject water into the production cycle, ensuring continuous industrial supply without new extractions. The main equipment includes treatment reactors, high-efficiency membrane units, crystallization systems, multiparameter sensors, and SCADA-IoT digital infrastructure for quality control and traceability. The project complies with ISO 14046 (water footprint), ISO 46001 (water efficiency management), WHO guidelines, and Chinese national zero-discharge regulations, as well as alignment with European sustainable water management directives.
This solution is particularly relevant because it addresses one of the region’s most severe crises: aquifer depletion and surface water pollution from energy and industrial development. Before the project, the Fuxin corridor depended on non-renewable groundwater extractions; now, each cubic meter treated becomes a recovered resource that relieves ecosystem pressure. The difference from the baseline is drastic: shifting from linear, extractive management to a circular model combining efficiency, digital control, and collaborative governance. This solution is the most suitable for the hydrological context of northeastern China, where water stress exceeds 40% and climatic variability demands resilient systems.
Expected results are measurable and traceable: over 36 million m³ of water reused per year, more than 95% reduction of total dissolved solids and contaminants, and 15% energy savings. Additionally, an annual reduction of 12,000 tons of CO₂ equivalent and improvement in the Baishui basin water quality index are projected. In terms of biodiversity and public health, eliminating contaminant discharges reduces health risks and aids ecosystem regeneration. The project strengthens the company’s Water Positive roadmap by generating verifiable Volumetric Water Benefits under the VWBA 2.0 framework principles of additionality, traceability, and intentionality.
Strategically and commercially, the plant consolidates Datang Fuxin Water Co., Ltd.’s reputation as a leader in industrial water innovation, granting it competitive advantages in ESG compliance, operating licenses, and access to green financing. It also fully integrates with global commitments such as Science Based Targets for Water, Net Positive Water Impact (NPWI), and European ESRS E3 sustainability standards. Its model is replicable in other industrial basins in Asia and Latin America, provided conditions of water stress, basic treatment infrastructure, and institutional willingness to adopt circular economy schemes exist. Partnerships with local governments, communities, and technology firms drive its scalability.
The final expected impact goes beyond efficiency: the project contributes to balancing the regional water budget, reduces drought vulnerability, and strengthens the territory’s climate resilience. Socially, it generates technical employment, improves access to quality water, and enhances community health security. For investors and companies, it represents a tangible opportunity to participate in the transition toward a regenerative economy where every recovered liter is an environmental, social, and economic asset redefining the relationship between development and sustainability.
