Every day, the world is moving closer to an unprecedented water deficit: by 2030 we could lose up to 40% of freshwater availability compared to ever-increasing industrial and urban demand. This scenario is not just an alarming number, it is equivalent to depriving hundreds of millions of households of their annual drinking water consumption. In this urgent context, Camp de Tarragona emerges as a visionary benchmark: the Water Regeneration Station (AWRP), a pioneer in Spain, converts urban effluent into a safe resource that supplies cooling towers and boilers of the country’s largest petrochemical hub. The opportunity it represents is transformative: every cubic meter regenerated is a cubic meter not extracted from overexploited aquifers or public supply networks. With an initial capacity of 19,000 m³/day, equivalent to the daily consumption of a city of 100,000 inhabitants, and planned expansions, the plant opens the door to scaling high-quality industrial reuse models under international standards (WHO, European reuse regulations, ISO 14046).
This reuse market in Spain and Europe is rapidly expanding: currently only 5% of treated wastewater is reused, compared to more than 80% in Israel or Singapore, highlighting a huge space of opportunity. The project’s strategic objective is clear: to transform effluents into a stable and safe resource, addressing the water vulnerability of the petrochemical hub and reducing competition for potable water in the basin. Its location in Tarragona, Spain (41.1187°N, 1.2445°E) makes it a strategic hub for innovation. The rationale for the project lies in regional water stress, regulatory pressure, and the need to ensure industrial operational continuity.
Key stakeholders include: AITASA as plant operator, AWC as the reverse osmosis optimization technology provider, petrochemical hub industries as end users, and external verifying entities that will ensure traceability of results under the VWBA methodology. Optimizing the reverse osmosis systems with AWC (Advanced Water Conditioning) positions this project at the forefront of innovation: it increases recovery, reduces energy consumption, and extends membrane lifespan. It is not only about technical efficiency, but about leading an inevitable transition toward industrial circularity, with measurable, replicable, and traceable benefits under the principles of Volumetric Water Benefit Accounting 2.0. In this way, the project fully integrates into the corporate Water Positive strategy, guaranteeing additionality, traceability, and intentionality in every cubic meter generated.
Located in the Tarragona area, the Water Regeneration Station responds to a technical and strategic opportunity that arises from structural water stress in the Francolí basin and the growing demand of the petrochemical complex. The baseline showed intensive use of potable and groundwater with rising costs, efficiency losses, aquifer pressure, and reputational risks for companies. The plant, equipped with a third treatment, Dow Filmtec reverse osmosis membranes, and advanced disinfection, transforms this challenge into an opportunity by producing regenerated water of the highest quality for critical industrial uses.
Integrating AWC technology increases recovery efficiency by 5, 10%, resulting in thousands of additional cubic meters recovered each year and an immediate reduction in energy and chemical consumption. This generates direct benefits: lower emissions, substitution of potable water with regenerated water, and greater resilience against droughts. The solution is made possible by AITASA as operator, AWC as technology provider, and petrochemical hub industries as end users, with the support of external verifying entities ensuring traceability.
The model is replicable because it combines technological innovation with collaborative governance and can be applied in other European industrial basins where reuse is still incipient. Acting now is crucial because the European regulatory framework for reuse and water efficiency is tightening, and every year without intervention means millions of cubic meters of freshwater unnecessarily extracted. Industrial companies with ESG commitments, technology providers, or corporations with circularity goals will find here not only regulatory compliance and operational savings but also competitive differentiation, visibility, and a sustainability leadership narrative that strengthens their market positioning.
The technical implementation revolves around the comprehensive optimization of the reverse osmosis train through predictive software, dynamic adjustment of operational parameters (pH, SDI, saturation indices), and a digital traceability scheme. Alternatives such as intensive use of antiscalants or membrane replacement were evaluated, but this hybrid, technological and digital, solution was chosen for its ability to recover more water, reduce reject, and minimize the generation of hazardous waste. With a capacity of 19,000 m³/day, the plant demonstrates robust performance in a highly stressed basin context.
The strategic justification is clear: it is about turning an environmental problem, intensive consumption of potable water and vulnerability to droughts, into an opportunity for industrial circularity. The selection criteria combined efficiency, cost-benefit, replicable impact, and compliance with European regulations. Thus, the solution is directly linked to the Water Positive strategy, providing additionality, intentionality, and traceability in every cubic meter validated under VWBA.
Expected benefits are quantifiable: increased water recovery by hundreds of thousands of m³ annually, reduced chemicals and associated emissions, and greater operational resilience. Environmentally, it decreases pressure on aquifers and reduces pollutants; socially, it frees potable water for other community uses and generates technical employment; economically, it lowers operating costs, improves supply security, and strengthens ESG certifications.
Operational risks, scaling, biofouling, membrane failures, and environmental risks, hydrological variability, social acceptance, are mitigated through redundant systems, online monitoring, contingency plans, and shared governance with end users. Predictive maintenance protocols and early warning alarms prevent critical failures such as contamination, supply shortages, or saline intrusion. In addition, long-term resilience is ensured by adapting operational parameters to climate change scenarios.
Scalability is high: this model can be replicated in other industrial basins in Spain and Europe, provided there are favorable regulatory frameworks and willingness for public-private collaboration. Its competitiveness is based on solid cost/benefit and the ability to report verifiable KPIs under VWBA. Expansion will be facilitated by technological, community, and institutional partnerships that amplify its impact in the transition toward a circular water economy.
Implementation is conceived under an escalated and adaptive approach, organized in phases that ensure an orderly and traceable technical deployment. The first stage corresponds to diagnosis and baseline, where historical data on flow, quality, and energy efficiency are collected, establishing initial reference indicators. From there, design and operational optimization are developed with the integration of AWC software and RO membrane calibration, adjusting parameters to maximize recovery and reduce chemicals. Subsequently, the installation of IoT instrumentation and SCADA systems ensures continuous monitoring of flow, differential pressure, SDI, and conductivity, enabling real-time digital traceability. The commissioning phase includes validation of improvements, technical audit, and verification of KPIs according to VWBA, ensuring additionality and intentionality. Finally, continuous operation is established with preventive and predictive maintenance plans, optimized CIP protocols, early warning alarms, and periodic reports.
The baseline considers water losses, energy consumption, and quality parameters before the intervention, compared with the values obtained in the operational phases. KPIs include net recovery, specific energy consumption (kWh/m³), annual regenerated volume, chemical reduction, and VWB certified under VWBA 2.0. Data are collected through online sensors, accredited laboratories, and external audits with monthly frequency and annual reports.
Physical traceability is ensured from the treated urban effluent to the regenerated water delivered to industries, while digital traceability is guaranteed with IoT and SCADA platforms that generate alarms in case of deviations. External validation protocols and independent verifiers consolidate credibility. Governance involves AITASA as operator, industrial users as beneficiaries, ACA as regulatory authority, and external verifiers for result control, with clear responsibilities in operation, maintenance, and monitoring. Governance agreements on the use of regenerated water have been defined, prioritizing resilience and efficiency.
The monitoring and reporting system follows the VWBA/WQBA methodology to compare the with-project versus without-project scenario, ensuring that each cubic meter accounted for has proven additionality. Continuous improvement is implemented with data feedback, process adjustments, and technological updates, guaranteeing permanence of benefits and resilience to climate change over time.
The project focuses on the optimization of reverse osmosis at the Camp de Tarragona AWRP using AWC, with the goal of maximizing regenerated water recovery, reducing pressure on natural water resources, and reinforcing the resilience of the petrochemical hub. Technically, it combines advanced pretreatment, Dow Filmtec membranes, and final disinfection, integrating AWC predictive software to adjust operational parameters and ensure maximum efficiency. With a nominal capacity of 19,000 m³/day, translating into hundreds of thousands of m³ annually reused, it supplies critical industrial users and complies with international standards (ISO 14046, WHO, European reuse regulation, and Spanish legislation).
The relevance of the solution lies in addressing regional water stress and rising potable water costs, replacing aquifer extractions with high-quality regenerated water. Compared to the baseline dependence on limited resources, it provides resilience, water security, and emissions reduction. It is appropriate in this Mediterranean context because it adapts to climate variability, meets regulatory requirements, and strengthens the region’s social and economic sustainability.
Concrete results include saving or substituting hundreds of thousands of m³ of potable water annually, significant reduction of contaminants (BOD, TSS, salts, coliforms), and additional benefits such as lower CO₂ emissions, supply security, and creation of specialized technical jobs.
Strategically, it reinforces the Water Positive roadmap, aligns ESG commitments and international standards such as SBTi, NPWI, and ESRS E3, and offers competitive differentiation and social license to operate. Its commercial value lies in regulatory compliance, cost reduction, and strengthened corporate reputation.
The experience is replicable in other industrial basins in Spain and Europe, where technical and regulatory conditions favor reuse. Its scalability depends on clear regulatory frameworks, social acceptance, and public-private partnerships. Plant operators, regional governments, and industrial companies are key actors for its expansion.
The final expected impact is to improve the Francolí basin’s water balance, reinforce resilience to climate change, and free potable water for communities and agriculture. Socially, it promotes employment, economic stability, and water security; environmentally, it reduces pressure on ecosystems and emissions; for investors and society, it sends a clear message: the transition to a regenerative and circular economy is possible and measurable with projects like this.
