The planet is heading toward a 40% freshwater deficit by 2030, while metropolitan regions such as São Paulo are already living at the limit of their water capacity. Every day, millions of cubic meters are lost in inefficient processes, while strategic industrial sectors face the dilemma of either limiting their growth or innovating radically. In the Greater ABC (comprising the municipalities of Santo André, São Bernardo do Campo and São Caetano do Sul, in addition to Diadema, Mauá, Ribeirão Pires and Rio Grande da Serra), the petrochemical heart of Brazil, the pressure on the Cantareira system and the Alto Tietê basin exposes the urgency of bold solutions that transform the way we produce and consume water.
In this critical scenario, Aquapolo Ambiental, the largest water reuse plant in Latin America, emerges as a living laboratory of water resilience. Today it takes a step further: increasing the efficiency of reverse osmosis through advanced chemical solutions from AWC. This innovation not only optimizes membranes and reduces losses; it changes the rules of the game, allowing each liter treated to multiply in strategic value. The transformative potential is evident: every 1% increase in efficiency is equivalent to the annual consumption of thousands of households in Greater São Paulo, freeing potable water for the population and consolidating a model of circular industry.
The project’s purpose is clear: to secure more regenerated cubic meters with less energy and a smaller environmental footprint, in a context where water defines regional competitiveness. Its strategic objective is to transform a local benchmark into a global Water Positive standard, demonstrating that technology and governance can align industrial development with water security.
In today’s market, São Paulo concentrates more than 20 million inhabitants and hosts a petrochemical hub whose water demand is equivalent to that of entire cities. The 2014–2015 crisis, which reduced Cantareira levels by 60% and forced massive restrictions, exposed the system’s vulnerability. Since then, water reuse has become an indispensable strategy to sustain industrial fabric and guarantee urban supply.
The project is located at the Aquapolo Ambiental Plant, in the Greater ABC region, São Paulo, Brazil, an industrial hub of national relevance. Key actors converge there: Aquapolo Ambiental as operator, the petrochemical hub as the main user, AWC as chemical solutions provider, in addition to environmental and water authorities of São Paulo and an independent verifying entity that ensures measurement under the VWBA 2.0 methodology.
This network of actors and technical solutions aligns with the Water Positive strategy, fulfilling the principles of additionality , by generating a net increase of available water compared to the baseline scenario,, traceability ,with regenerated m³ digitally verified and audited,, and intentionality ,by being expressly designed to strengthen water resilience in a critical basin.
Thus, Aquapolo Ambiental not only improves a process: it drives a paradigm shift. Every cubic meter optimized under this intervention counts as a Volumetric Water Benefit (VWB), aligned with VWBA 2.0, ensuring that the impact is not rhetorical but tangible, measurable, and communicable to clients, authorities, and communities.
The current technical challenge lies in membrane fouling, which limits water recovery and forces more frequent brine discharges. This translates into lower volumetric efficiency, higher energy consumption, and elevated cleaning and replacement costs. In response to this problem, the opportunity arises to apply AWC’s chemical treatment, an innovation that extends membrane life, reduces scaling, and increases recovery rates. Immediately, this means having more regenerated water available for industrial use without increasing external withdrawals, reducing emissions associated with energy consumption, decreasing saline discharges, and replacing polluting inputs.
The project, located at the Aquapolo Ambiental Plant in Greater ABC, São Paulo, employs reverse osmosis technology optimized with specialized chemistry. Each efficiency increase is equivalent to thousands of additional m³ of water available per year. The benefits are tangible and direct: water resilience for the region, energy savings, and reduced environmental impacts.
It is made possible by the synergy between Aquapolo Ambiental as developer and operator, AWC as technology partner, the petrochemical hub of Greater ABC as strategic user, and water authorities as governance guarantors. This model is replicable in other industrial and urban basins, and it is crucial to act now to consolidate a Water Positive standard. Industrial companies with ESG goals find here not only regulatory compliance and reputational visibility, but also competitive differentiation and leadership in the transition toward a circular water economy.
The proposed technical solution is based on the controlled dosing of AWC chemical products tailored to the profile of regenerated waters, a gray and digital intervention that integrates into existing reverse osmosis systems. Alternatives such as next-generation membranes or changes in pretreatment were previously evaluated, but this option was chosen for its balance of cost, efficiency, and rapid scalability. Its operating capacity reaches tens of thousands of m³/day, with direct benefits in scaling reduction, solids dispersion, and optimized chemical cleanings, which increase water recovery and reduce the energy footprint.
From a strategic standpoint, it addresses the problem of underperformance and losses in reuse processes, particularly critical in a basin like Alto Tietê. It is suitable in this context due to the quality of regenerated water, local climatic conditions, and pressure on potable sources. Selection was based on efficiency, cost/benefit, environmental impact, and replicability, in addition to alignment with local and international regulations. Likewise, the project aligns with the Water Positive strategy and meets VWBA principles of additionality, traceability, and intentionality.
Expected benefits are quantifiable: thousands of additional m³ of water reused each year, significant reduction in membrane cleanings, lower energy consumption per cubic meter, and decreased saline discharges. Added to this are environmental impacts such as reduced indirect emissions and prevention of water pollution; social impacts such as regional water security and support for industrial activity and employment; and economic impacts such as operational savings, resilience to droughts, and strengthened ESG reputation.
Operational and environmental risks exist, ranging from dosing failures to hydrological variability or social acceptance of reuse. To mitigate them, redundant systems, contingency plans, and shared governance with local authorities are integrated. Long-term resilience is ensured through continuous monitoring protocols, prevention of critical failures such as saline intrusion or contamination, and the integration of climate change scenarios into planning.
The model is scalable and replicable in other urban and industrial basins that depend on intensive reuse. Scaling conditions include favorable regulatory frameworks, digital monitoring capacity, and public-private partnerships. The cost/benefit ratio is competitive compared to alternatives due to energy and membrane savings, and its replicability is reinforced by the traceability of results guaranteed by VWBA methodologies. In this way, Aquapolo Ambiental demonstrates a viable and visionary path toward a circular water economy in critical scarcity contexts.
The project is implemented under a phased and adaptive scheme, structured in several clearly defined stages. The first consists of a thorough diagnosis and construction of the baseline, which includes fouling modeling, characterization of regenerated water, and measurement of critical parameters of flow, energy consumption, and effluent quality. This stage lays the groundwork for solution design. Next, a pilot phase is developed in a membrane train where the effectiveness of AWC products is validated under controlled conditions, accompanied by the installation of IoT sensors and flow meters that allow real-time data acquisition. Once results are confirmed, the project moves to a progressive scaling phase until covering the entire plant, incorporating digital traceability systems, SCADA, and reporting platforms. The final stage focuses on validation and external auditing under the VWBA methodology, ensuring that volumetric and efficiency benefits are verifiable.
The core technology is reverse osmosis optimized with specialized chemical dosing, selected over alternatives for its ability to generate immediate savings and scalability in industrial contexts. The system is designed for tens of thousands of m³/day, with performance indicators such as additional regenerated water m³, recovery percentage, specific energy consumption, and membrane cleaning frequency. These KPIs are measured before, during, and after the project through online sensors, accredited laboratories, and telemetry reports, with frequencies ranging from hourly IoT readings to monthly laboratory verifications.
Traceability is ensured physically by controlling regenerated water from its origin to industrial destination, and digitally through SCADA systems, blockchain, and real-time reporting. Automatic alarms warn of deviations in pressure, quality, or flow, while external verifiers audit data to validate the permanence of benefits. System governance is structured between Aquapolo Ambiental as operator, AWC as technology support, industrial users as beneficiaries, and water authorities as supervisors. Roles and responsibilities include daily operation, preventive and corrective maintenance, and external validation.
The maintenance plan combines preventive routines with predictive protocols based on data analysis, reducing the probability of critical failures such as permeate contamination, saline intrusion, or dosing failures. Finally, the monitoring and continuous improvement system is based on the comparison between with-project and without-project scenarios, integrating process adjustments, real-time feedback, and periodic technology updates. All this ensures the permanence of benefits over time and consolidates the water resilience of the plant and the associated basin.
The Aquapolo Ambiental project consists of an industrial intervention based on optimizing reverse osmosis through advanced chemical solutions from AWC, aimed at wastewater reuse to supply the Greater ABC petrochemical hub. Technically, the process includes pretreatment, chemical dosing, membrane train operation, IoT monitoring, and digital traceability, with a treatment capacity of tens of thousands of m³/day and standards that comply with national regulations, international criteria for safe reuse, and applicable ISO standards.
The relevance of this solution lies in its response to a context of chronic water stress in the Alto Tietê basin, where pressure on potable sources compromises both the urban and industrial sectors. Compared to the baseline situation, marked by greater losses and higher energy consumption, the project provides a leap in efficiency, sustainability, and water security. It is the appropriate solution because it adapts technology to the specific profile of regenerated water, in line with local climatic conditions, scarcity risks, and regulatory frameworks.
The concrete results translate into thousands of additional m³ of water reused annually, reduction of critical parameters such as solids and salts, decreased specific energy consumption, and lower use of chemical inputs. Additional benefits include reduced indirect emissions, support for regional biodiversity by reducing pressure on natural sources, improvements in public health through greater availability of drinking water, and food resilience by ensuring water for essential productive processes.
In strategic and commercial terms, the intervention strengthens the Water Positive roadmap of the company and the region, provides tangible ESG benefits such as social license to operate, reputation, regulatory compliance, and competitive differentiation, and integrates into global commitments such as SBTi, NPWI, SDGs, and ESRS E3. The model is replicable in other industrial and urban basins with similar scarcity conditions, ensuring scalability through regulatory frameworks, social acceptance, and public-private partnerships.
The final expected impact is to contribute positively to the water balance of the basin, increasing resilience to climate change and reducing vulnerabilities. Socially, direct and indirect jobs are generated, supply security is strengthened, community perception is improved, and a clear message is consolidated for investors, clients, and society: this project demonstrates how technological innovation and collaborative governance are key pieces in the transition toward a circular and regenerative water economy.
