The Bogota Free Trade Zone is located in the western part of Colombia’s capital, in a strategic location that combines proximity to El Dorado International Airport, access to major logistics routes, and connectivity with the urban supply system. More than 400 companies operate within this space, distributed across sectors such as pharmaceuticals, food, logistics, cosmetics, metalworking, and technology. This diversity translates into a highly heterogeneous matrix of industrial water consumption and generation, with significant variations in organic load (BOD, COD), suspended solids (TSS), nutrients (N and P), recalcitrant compounds, and traces of emerging contaminants (e.g., surfactants, pharmaceuticals, biocides).
Currently, effluent management is fragmented and decentralized: many companies have localized primary or secondary treatment plants, while others discharge into the public system with minimal pretreatment. This situation generates limited technical efficiency, lack of traceability between discharges, and uneven operating conditions that compromise both environmental compliance and the potential to implement circular solutions at the park scale. Additionally, it creates significant pressure on Bogota’s sewer system and the middle basin of the Bogota River, a historical receptor of multiple pollution sources.
In response to this situation, the project proposes a structural intervention based on the VWBA 2.0 (Volumetric Water Benefit Accounting) and WQBA (Water Quality Benefit Accounting) approaches, through the implementation of a collective, modular, and digitized system for the treatment and reuse of industrial water. This system will allow for the segregation, treatment, and reuse of industrial flows more efficiently and safely, aligning ZFB with international standards of industrial water sustainability. The use of real-time traceability platforms, the configuration of technological clusters by pollutant profile, and the design of performance-based incentives will transform ZFB into a resilient industrial node, with a high capacity to reduce withdrawals, eliminate discharges, and generate regenerated water for internal non-potable uses.
The lack of shared infrastructure for wastewater treatment in the Bogota Free Trade Zone has generated technical fragmentation reflected in the coexistence of disparate solutions, many of which are primary (grease traps, sedimentation tanks) or basic secondary (conventional activated sludge), with limited capacity to remove complex contaminants or comply with stricter regulations. This technological heterogeneity results in irregular removal efficiencies, difficulties in standardizing operational and maintenance criteria, and an uneven burden on the public sewer system, which receives effluents with poorly controlled characteristics.
From a regulatory standpoint, many of these plants are not prepared to comply with the requirements of Decree 3930 of 2010 and its update, nor with the load reduction targets established by the regional environmental authority (CAR) for the sanitation of the Bogota River. The absence of traceability mechanisms—such as online sensors, unified records, or cross-audits—prevents the evaluation of cumulative impacts of discharges, which have historically contributed to the physical-chemical and ecological degradation of the river, affecting its self-regulation capacity and downstream uses.
This is compounded by growing social, media, and institutional pressure to transform the industrial model toward sustainable schemes. Citizens, media, and environmental authorities have intensified their demands to reduce the pollutant load discharged into the Bogota River, aligning with Colombia’s international commitments on climate change and the SDGs. This environment has also led to greater scrutiny of industrial zones and their social license to operate.
In parallel, the current system does not take advantage of evident opportunities for treated water reuse. Water discharged with improvable parameters could be used for non-potable purposes within the park, reducing pressure on groundwater sources and the Bogota aqueduct. However, the lack of shared infrastructure and a common operational strategy prevents the capture of these benefits. This situation increases companies’ operational costs, raises their vulnerability to water use restrictions, and delays the adoption of circular water economy models.
The proposed solution is based on the development of a modular and scalable system for the treatment and reuse of industrial water, specifically designed to address the heterogeneity of pollutants generated by the different sectors that make up the Bogota Free Trade Zone. This modularity allows each sectoral cluster (food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, logistics, metalworking) to have a treatment line adapted to its pollutant load characteristics, flow rate, and available space.
The modular units will combine treatment trains starting with physical-chemical primary separation processes (coagulation-flocculation, sedimentation, dissolved air flotation), followed by advanced biological treatments through membrane bioreactors (MBR), which allow high removal rates of BOD, COD, nutrients, and suspended solids, with a reduced footprint and no need for secondary clarifiers. Subsequently, effluents will pass through advanced oxidation processes (AOP), applicable for degrading emerging contaminants and recalcitrant compounds, including peroxides, ozone, or UV/H2O2.
As a final stage, disinfection systems using dual-pass ultraviolet (UV) radiation will be incorporated, with microbiological inactivation validation according to international standards, and polishing modules with granular activated carbon or tertiary filtration to ensure the physicochemical quality of the regenerated water. These treatment trains will be operated via a centralized SCADA system, with IoT sensors continuously monitoring critical parameters such as flow rate, BOD, TSS, turbidity, pH, temperature, ORP, and conductivity.
The treated water will be safely reused within the park for non-potable applications such as: floor, cargo vehicle, and machinery washing; green area irrigation; water replenishment in cooling towers; fire protection systems; and external surface cleaning. The segregation by use type and target quality for each will be defined under safe reuse protocols, aligned with Colombian regulations (Resolution 1207 of 2014) and international best practices (WHO Guidelines for Safe Use of Wastewater).
The system will be measured using the VWBA methodology to quantify the volume of water saved by substituting primary sources (aqueduct or well), as well as by reducing discharges into the sewer system. In turn, the WQBA methodology will quantify the pollutant load avoided (kg/year of BOD, TSS, N, P) thanks to the technological intervention. Both frameworks will be subject to external verification by independent entities, enabling certification under standards such as Aqua Positive or Act4Water, and allowing their valuation in environmental benefit markets.
Stage 1: Technical Diagnosis (0–6 months) This stage aims to characterize the current water situation of companies located in ZFB. It involves comprehensive mapping of production processes, water consumption, effluent generation points, discharge quality, and reuse potential. Field inspections, technical interviews, laboratory analysis, and temporary sensors for spot measurements are used.
Stage 2: Modular System Design (months 7–12) Based on the diagnosis, conceptual and detailed design of cluster-specific solutions is formulated. Appropriate technology trains (MBR, AOP, UV, tertiary filtration) are selected, hydraulic modeling, sizing, projected efficiency estimation, and CAPEX/OPEX evaluation are carried out.
Stage 3: Pilot and Validation (months 13–24) A pilot treatment unit is installed at a strategic point of the park or a representative company. This phase validates the efficiency of the treatment train, verifies the quality of reclaimed water, and assesses user acceptance.
Stage 4: Scaling (months 25–48) The full-scale solution is implemented in all clusters under a defined tariff and institutional model. New units are integrated, operational responsibilities established, and a shared water governance system consolidated.
The purpose of this project is to structurally transform the management of industrial wastewater within the Bogota Free Trade Zone, one of Colombia’s most important business complexes. Strategically located in the western part of the city, ZFB groups over 400 companies from the logistics, pharmaceutical, food, cosmetic, and technology sectors. This diversity generates a complex mixture of industrial effluents with variable physicochemical characteristics and a high organic and chemical load.
Currently, companies manage their effluents independently, with localized treatment solutions and no common quality control or traceability system. This leads to inefficient water resource management, regulatory compliance risks, high operational costs, and growing pressure on the urban and regional water system, particularly the Bogota River.
In response, the project proposes implementing a modular and collective infrastructure for the treatment, regeneration, and reuse of industrial wastewater. This infrastructure will be equipped with advanced technologies such as membrane bioreactors (MBR), advanced oxidation (AOP), dual-pass UV disinfection, and activated carbon polishing, enabling the production of high-quality water suitable for non-potable uses within the industrial park.
The system will be monitored in real time using sensors for flow, BOD, TSS, pH, turbidity, temperature, and conductivity, integrated into an interoperable digital platform. This will ensure traceability of benefits in terms of both reused water volume (VWBA) and effluent quality improvement (WQBA), under auditable and verifiable schemes. The project also includes a shared governance model involving user companies, Bogota Free Trade Zone administration, technical operators, and environmental authorities.
Implementation will be carried out in four stages. The first will consist of a comprehensive technical diagnosis, mapping water flows, effluent generation points, and reuse opportunities. The second stage will design the modular system, adapted by company or sector type. The third phase will execute a demonstrative pilot, validating technological efficiency and reuse acceptance. Finally, the fourth stage will scale the system to all companies, with a fair tariff structure, performance indicators, and continuous reporting mechanisms.
The reclaimed water will be used in industrial applications such as green area irrigation, floor and vehicle washing, cooling tower supply, and other non-potable uses. This will significantly reduce the extraction of potable or groundwater, eliminate discharges to the sewer system, and decrease environmental impact on the Bogota River, contributing to its quality improvement.
The project aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDGs 6, 9, 12, 13, and 17, and follows principles of circular economy, water efficiency, and climate resilience. Its implementation will position the Bogota Free Trade Zone as a reference in industrial sustainability in Latin America and provide a replicable model for other industrial parks and free trade zones in the country and the region.
This comprehensive approach not only maximizes operational efficiency in water resource use but also improves the collective environmental performance of companies, creates new technical job opportunities, strengthens the social license to operate, and anticipates future regulatory requirements for water management and corporate sustainability.
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