In the context of a global water crisis that threatens more than 2 billion people, where coastal zones are particularly vulnerable to saline intrusion and aquifer degradation, the coastal fringe of the Gulf of Guayaquil faces an urgent and unavoidable challenge. Here, decades of overexploitation for shrimp farming and agriculture, combined with climate variability and rising sea levels, have disrupted the natural balance of coastal aquifers, jeopardizing water security, biodiversity, and local economies.
This project emerges as a strategic and transformative response: restoring the hydrological functionality of degraded aquifers through the closure and sealing of salinized wells, the implementation of green infrastructure to promote natural recharge, and the installation of an integrated physical-digital monitoring system to ensure traceability and permanence of benefits. In doing so, it not only recovers quality water for resilient aquaculture production but also reduces pressure on surface sources and improves the ecological health of wetlands and estuaries.
The scale of change is clear: every sealed well removes a pathway for saline intrusion, and every hectare restored adds infiltration capacity equivalent to the annual consumption of hundreds of households. The model is built under the principles of additionality, traceability, and intentionality defined by VWBA 2.0, ensuring that every cubic meter recovered is verifiable and counts as a net water benefit for the basin. This effort directly supports SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), SDG 13 (Climate Action), and SDG 14 (Life Below Water), positioning stakeholders as leaders in coastal water regeneration.
In a global aquaculture market that increasingly demands sustainability certifications and traceability to access the most competitive segments, this initiative offers both a strategic advantage and a powerful narrative: a production model that gives back more than it takes, protecting the very foundation of its existence.
Currently, the coastal fringe of the Gulf of Guayaquil is experiencing progressive aquifer degradation caused by decades of unregulated extraction, abandoned wells, uncontrolled leakages, and salinization due to marine intrusion. This phenomenon limits the availability of freshwater for both productive and community use, reduces resilience to droughts and extreme events, and fuels a vicious cycle of overexploitation and declining water quality.
The project seizes a unique technical and strategic opportunity: intervening on disused or active high-salinity wells to seal them, halting the advance of the saline wedge, while creating water recharge zones with adapted vegetation and engineered wetlands that filter and store rainwater and runoff. The system is complemented by sensors and monitoring stations that record piezometric levels, salinity, and recharge flows, generating a verifiable history for water benefit certification.
In the short term, the intervention will halt the advance of saline intrusion and stabilize water quality in critical areas. In the medium term, recharge capacity will increase, reducing dependence on external sources and strengthening the water security of aquaculture farms. In the long term, the methodology can be replicated in other coastal areas of Ecuador and Latin America, with results integrated into traceability platforms and ESG reporting.
Key actors include large-scale aquaculture operators, technology providers for sealing and monitoring, conservation organizations, water management authorities, and external verifiers applying VWBA/WQBA methodologies to certify impact. Export-oriented shrimp farming companies can align this initiative with their Water Positive commitments, improving access to international markets and strengthening their social license to operate.
This is not just a mitigation project; it is a paradigm shift, from extractive production to a regenerative model that integrates economy, ecology, and community into a single flow of value.
The intervention involves designing and implementing a modular shared treatment system, organized into technological clusters grouping companies by process similarity and pollutant load profile (organic, inorganic, biological). Each treatment unit will feature an integrated process train, starting with a physical separation stage using automated screening and grit removal to eliminate coarse solids and sand. This is followed by a physicochemical stage combining polymer-assisted coagulation and flocculation, then dissolved air flotation (DAF), ideal for removing fats, oils, and colloidal solids.
Subsequently, the effluents are directed to membrane bioreactors (MBR), which combine aerobic biological treatment with submerged membrane filtration, achieving high removal efficiency of BOD, COD, total nitrogen, and phosphorus, even under high-load conditions. For the degradation of emerging contaminants and recalcitrant compounds, an advanced oxidation process (AOP) stage is added, operating via ozonation or a combination of hydrogen peroxide and UV radiation.
Final disinfection is ensured by a dual-pass UV system, guaranteeing microbiological inactivation in line with WHO guidelines for safe reuse. A final polishing stage will use granular activated carbon filters and silica sand columns to remove traces of color, odor, disinfection by-products, and to improve aesthetic parameters of the reclaimed water.
The entire treatment train will be operated via a centralized SCADA system with IoT sensors for online monitoring of flow, pH, turbidity, BOD, TSS, conductivity, ORP, temperature, and residual chlorine concentration, among others. This data will enable the implementation of a digital traceability system with automated alerts and auditable reporting.
The treated water will be reused within the industrial park for non-potable applications under strict reuse protocols aligned with Technical Standard INEN 2 1266, which regulates reclaimed water use for industrial, landscaping, and general service purposes. Expected uses include floor and vehicle washing, feeding of cooling towers, closed-loop cooling systems, garden irrigation, and indirect steam generation.
It is estimated that this strategy will replace 60% to 70% of current potable or groundwater consumption for these purposes, generating measurable benefits in terms of reduced withdrawals, reduced discharges, and operational savings for participating companies. These benefits will be calculated according to VWBA (net volumetric savings) and WQBA (specific pollutant load reduction), both validated through platforms like Aqua Positive and subject to annual third-party verification.
The project is structured into four progressive stages, with defined objectives and clear metrics to ensure traceability, efficiency, and technical validation.
Stage 1: Technical Diagnosis (Months 0–6): A comprehensive technical assessment is conducted on the park’s current water situation. Water use flows per company are measured, along with the physicochemical characteristics of effluents (BOD, COD, TSS, fats, metals, pH, temperature), discharge points, and current treatment practices. Characterization is carried out through site visits, temporary flow measurements, certified lab analyses, and document review. A solid water baseline will be established to define technological clusters by industry type and determine volumes and pollutant loads to be treated.
Stage 2: Modular System Design (Months 7–12): Using data from the diagnosis, the technical design of the shared treatment system is developed. Specific cluster requirements (volume, load, contaminant type), available infrastructure space, intercompany hydraulic interconnections, and viable reuse points are determined. Hydraulic simulations, load modeling, and regulatory evaluations are performed to ensure compliance with INEN 2 1266 and TULSMA. Design consistency is checked via engineering review, technical validation of proposed technologies, and review of operational standards. The outcome is a complete executive design with equipment specifications, sensors, operating protocols, and a preliminary financial model.
Stage 3: Pilot and Validation (Months 13–24): A pilot plant is constructed in a representative area of the park, connecting a selected group of companies. The goal is to validate real-world performance of the treatment train under operational conditions, measuring contaminant removal (BOD, COD, coliforms, nutrients) and reclaimed water quality. User acceptance of various non-potable uses is also evaluated. Real-time monitoring is carried out using online sensors integrated into a SCADA platform, with weekly sampling and external validation. All technological adjustments are documented. The expected result is full technical, operational, and social validation of the system, providing sufficient evidence for scaling.
Stage 4: Full-Scale Implementation (Months 25–48): The final stage involves full implementation across the park, including construction of new modular units by cluster, network connections, digital sensor integration, and establishment of a shared governance model. Total treated and reused water volumes, number of connected companies, effective pollutant reduction, and compliance with VWBA/WQBA standards are monitored. Control is carried out via cluster KPIs, monthly digital reports, and annual independent audits. Continuous operation, verifiable environmental benefits, and a replicable model for other industrial parks are expected outcomes.
Technologies or Actions Applied
Monitoring Plan
A sensor network connected to a SCADA platform will be implemented, with interoperability per cluster. Quarterly field verification campaigns, annual water balances, and independent performance audits will be conducted. Traceability will validate VWBA and WQBA metrics for certification platforms.
Key Partnerships or Implementing Actors
This project positions the Guayaquil Industrial Park as a national leader in industrial water reuse and circular water economy, anticipating new regulatory demands and generating positive environmental impacts on Ecuador’s strategic coastal ecosystems.
This project proposes a structural transformation in water management at the Guayaquil Industrial Park, one of Ecuador’s most important industrial zones, strategically located in southern Guayaquil. The park hosts a high density of manufacturing, food processing, metalworking, logistics, and pharmaceutical industries operating in a context of rising water stress due to coastal aquifer overexploitation, declining surface water availability, and increasing environmental and regulatory pressure.
Current effluent management is decentralized and fragmented, lacking common infrastructure and unified water governance. Each company operates under differing criteria, often without traceability or joint control, leading to discharges with variable parameters, some exceeding those permitted under national regulations (TULSMA, Book VI). This situation poses increasing environmental risks, particularly since effluents flow into sensitive water bodies like the Estero Salado and Guayas River, which have been classified as fragile ecosystems and national ecological recovery priorities.
In response, the project proposes a shared, modular, and technologically advanced solution under the VWBA and WQBA frameworks. The system will be organized into technological clusters by industry type and will include treatment trains combining screening, grit removal, coagulation-flocculation, DAF, MBR, AOP, dual-pass UV disinfection, and activated carbon filtration. The entire system will be monitored via IoT sensors connected to a SCADA platform, enabling digital traceability and real-time operational control.
The treated water will reach suitable quality for non-potable reuse in accordance with INEN 2 1266 and international standards, supporting applications such as industrial cleaning, cooling towers, garden irrigation, vehicle washing, and auxiliary processes. The strategy aims to replace 60% to 70% of potable or groundwater used for these applications, generating measurable, verifiable benefits in volumetric savings (VWBA) and pollutant load reductions (WQBA). These results will be externally validated and support certification under platforms such as Aqua Positive or Act4Water.
The project’s impact extends beyond the park’s boundaries: it supports decontamination of the lower Guayas River basin, improves the quality of the Estero Salado, and strengthens compliance with national and international environmental commitments. Its phased approach, diagnosis, design, pilot, and scaling, ensures technical, operational, and financial sustainability and replicability across other industrial settings in the country.
The proposal aligns with nine Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including Clean Water and Sanitation (SDG 6), Responsible Consumption and Production (SDG 12), Climate Action (SDG 13), Industry Innovation (SDG 9), and Protection of Coastal Ecosystems (SDG 15), among others. It also promotes technical job creation, reduces water and carbon footprints, and consolidates a collaborative governance model among companies, authorities, operators, and research centers.
Thus, the project positions the Guayaquil Industrial Park as a national model for circular water economy, anticipating new regulatory demands and demonstrating that operational efficiency, environmental sustainability, and industrial competitiveness can be achieved through intelligent and shared water management.
