In a world moving toward a projected 40% global water deficit by 2030, industrial hubs concentrate both the highest consumption and the greatest opportunities to change the equation. Lima, one of the driest capitals on the planet, imports virtually all the freshwater it consumes from increasingly stressed surface and groundwater sources. Every liter lost through untreated industrial discharges or inefficient processes is a drop that could be strengthening the city’s water resilience. The scale of the challenge is matched only by the opportunity: transforming the way industries manage, regenerate, and return water to the basin.
This project, conceived as a collective solution for the Lima Industrial Park, proposes a qualitative leap forward: centralizing the treatment and reuse of industrial wastewater in a high-performance facility, designed to ensure quality in line with WQBA standards and to maximize volumetric benefits under VWBA 2.0. With the capacity to process over X m³/day and generate a reusable flow equivalent to the annual consumption of thousands of Lima households, the initiative not only reduces pressure on potable water sources but also decreases pollutant discharges, optimizes operational costs, and consolidates both physical and digital traceability of the resource.
The current market context is clear: Lima’s industrial sector faces growing regulatory demands, international sustainability standards (AWS, SBTN), and pressure from global clients to demonstrate ESG leadership. Yet, treatment and reuse infrastructure remains fragmented, with outdated plants, high energy costs, and low levels of effective reuse. The strategy here is to turn that dispersion into a strength: shared infrastructure enabling all companies in the park to meet and exceed their efficiency, water neutrality, and international competitiveness targets.
Project participants include the industrial park operator, the technology provider specializing in advanced treatment and reuse, the project structurer applying VWBA/WQBA standards, and the independent verification entity certifying additionality, intentionality, and traceability. The project’s core purpose lies in its systemic impact: shifting from isolated efforts to a measurable and scalable collective water platform that positions Lima as a benchmark for industrial water management in extreme water stress zones.
The Lima Industrial Park faces a technical and environmental challenge common to many industrial zones in Latin America: high freshwater consumption, low reuse rates, and discharges which, while treated in some cases, do not consistently meet quality standards for safe reuse or discharge. The situation is compounded by Lima’s geographic location, with limited water resources and a coastal basin dependent on Andean flows that are increasingly variable due to climate change.
The technical opportunity lies in the concentration of demand and liquid waste in a single geographic point. By centralizing treatment in a state-of-the-art facility, combining physical-chemical pretreatment, membrane bioreactors (MBR), and advanced chlorine-free disinfection, more than 85% of processed volume can be recovered, with quality suitable for industrial processes, landscape irrigation, or cooling systems. This directly reduces network water consumption and replaces well abstractions, improving availability for other uses in the city.
In the short term, potable water consumption in the park is expected to drop by 40%, with virtually all liquid discharges to the sewer eliminated, yielding measurable, traceable benefits. In the medium and long term, the impact will be twofold: greater operational resilience in the face of supply restrictions and early compliance with emerging reuse and discharge regulations. The model is fully replicable in other industrial parks and free zones, where economies of scale and shared management make the investment viable.
Implementing this scheme positions participating companies as leaders in the Water Positive transition, strengthening their standing with investors, clients, and authorities. In a context where the social and environmental license to operate is increasingly demanding, acting now is not only a competitive advantage but also a guarantee of long-term market presence.
The project proposes the implementation of a collective industrial wastewater treatment and reuse system, structured into technological clusters based on industry type and contaminant profile. Each treatment unit will include a process train composed of physicochemical treatments (assisted coagulation-flocculation, DAF), advanced biological treatments using membrane bioreactors (MBR), advanced oxidation processes (AOP) for the removal of recalcitrant contaminants, and dual-pass UV disinfection to ensure microbiological safety. Final polishing will be carried out with granular activated carbon filtration.
These units will be connected to a digital SCADA platform with IoT sensors for continuous monitoring of critical parameters such as BOD, COD, TSS, turbidity, pH, temperature, conductivity, and coliforms. This system will ensure traceability, generate auditable reports, and optimize remote and real-time operation.
The treated water will be reused for non-potable purposes within the park: industrial cleaning, vehicle washing, landscape irrigation, cooling systems, and indirect steam generation. Operations will comply with national regulations and international standards (MINAM, WHO), ensuring sanitary safety and operational stability. Between 60% and 75% of current potable or groundwater use for these applications is expected to be replaced.
Benefits will be quantified using the VWBA (Volumetric Water Benefit Accounting) and WQBA (Water Quality Benefit Accounting) methodologies, with third-party verification and eligibility for certification.
Stage 1: Technical Diagnosis (0 to 6 months): A comprehensive characterization of each company’s water profile in the park is conducted, focusing on both water consumption and effluent generation and quality. Inflows and outflows, intake and discharge points, and key physicochemical parameters (BOD, COD, TSS, pH, conductivity, temperature, fats, heavy metals, and coliforms) are measured using manual and automatic flow meters, composite sampling, certified lab analysis, and temporary flow sensors.
Data is validated through site visits, operational interviews, self-reported documentation checks, and technical reviews. The outcome is a robust operational and environmental baseline that enables segmentation of the park into technological clusters based on contaminant compatibility and scalability.
Stage 2: Modular System Design (months 7 to 12): Based on the established baseline, conceptual and executive design of each modular unit is developed. This includes technology selection per cluster (e.g., MBR for high organic load, AOP for emerging contaminants, DAF for industries with high grease content), hydraulic sizing, mass and energy balances, and regulatory compatibility assessments per Peruvian standards (DS 003-2010-MINAM and reuse norms).
General layout, hydraulic interconnection schemes, and digital control specifications (SCADA, sensors, cybersecurity protocols) are prepared. Simulations under normal and stress conditions are conducted and validated by external technical review and expert committees. This stage concludes with detailed engineering, budget, construction schedule, risk matrix, and a social management plan.
Stage 3: Pilot and Validation (months 13 to 24): A representative pilot plant operating with real effluents from one or more clusters is built. The aim is to validate contaminant removal efficiency, operational stability, and user acceptance of the reclaimed water.
Key indicators such as BOD, COD, TSS, coliforms, turbidity, residual chlorine, specific energy consumption (kWh/m³), recovered volume, and recirculation rates are continuously monitored. Controls are performed via online sensors, weekly lab analyses, and monthly operational audits. The stage also includes failure testing, maintenance evaluation, and algorithm calibration for digital operation.
Performance is compared to design expectations. VWBA and WQBA metrics are calculated and validated externally. The stage ends with a technical and social validation report and any necessary design adjustments.
Stage 4: Scaling (months 25 to 48): The full modular system is implemented throughout the park, gradually integrating companies based on their cluster and operational maturity. New units are built, internal networks are interconnected, SCADA operation is optimized, and predictive maintenance and incident management routines are established.
Operational, environmental, and economic KPIs are tracked: reclaimed water volume used, potable water withdrawal reduction, energy efficiency, residual loads in discharges, and compliance with quality standards at reuse points. Annual third-party audits are conducted, and reports are generated under certification-aligned frameworks.
This full-scale implementation consolidates shared water governance, enables collective data traceability, and positions the park as a replicable model of industrial sustainability based on circular water economy.
This project aims to transform water management in the Industrial Park located in Lurín, south of Metropolitan Lima, a strategic area for industrial and logistics expansion in Peru. The park hosts companies from key sectors such as food and beverages, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, manufacturing, and advanced logistics, amid a backdrop of structural water scarcity, coastal aquifer overexploitation, and growing pressure on urban sanitation services. Currently, there is no centralized treatment infrastructure or common water reuse system.
Companies operate in isolation in terms of effluent management, with widely varying in situ treatments often limited to primary or basic secondary processes. These industrial discharges are channeled into the public sewer system, indirectly affecting the lower Lurín River basin and overburdening the Lima Sur treatment infrastructure. The lack of traceability, joint control, and shared water governance poses a challenge to environmental sustainability and regulatory compliance, in a context of increasing water stress and tightening regulations.
In response, the project proposes the design and implementation of a modular industrial wastewater treatment and reuse system shared by park companies and aligned with VWBA (Volumetric Water Benefit Accounting) and WQBA (Water Quality Benefit Accounting) methodologies. The objective is to reduce pressure on drinking water sources and aquifers, minimize pollutant discharges, and enable the safe reuse of treated water for non-potable applications within the park.
The solution is structured into industrial clusters grouped by activity type and contaminant profile. Each cluster will have a treatment unit with physicochemical processes (coagulation-flocculation, DAF), membrane bioreactors (MBR), advanced oxidation (AOP), dual-pass UV disinfection, and activated carbon filtration. The system will be managed via IoT sensors integrated into a SCADA platform for real-time monitoring and operational traceability.
The regenerated water will be used for non-potable purposes such as industrial cleaning, floor and vehicle washing, cooling towers, green space irrigation, and indirect steam generation. Following MINAM technical standards and international references such as WHO guidelines, the reclaimed water will meet the required microbiological and physicochemical quality. This strategy will replace between 60% and 75% of potable or groundwater currently used for these applications, with quantifiable benefits via VWBA and WQBA indicators and subject to external audits.
The project contributes to the environmental recovery of the Lurín River basin, eases pressure on the urban sanitation system, and anticipates new regulatory demands in Peru. It also strengthens industrial resilience in a region highly vulnerable to climate change and extreme hydrological events. It is structured in four stages: technical diagnosis, solution design, pilot validation, and full operational scaling, under a collaborative governance model involving companies, operators, environmental authorities, and technical institutions.
Its impact aligns with multiple Sustainable Development Goals, including clean water (SDG 6), resilient infrastructure (SDG 9), responsible production (SDG 12), climate action (SDG 13), and protection of coastal and terrestrial ecosystems (SDG 15). It also creates specialized technical employment, fosters environmental innovation, and positions this Industrial Park as a national and international benchmark for sustainable industrial water management.
Thus, the Industrial Park emerges as a strategic hub in the transition to a circular water economy, integrating high-standard technological solutions, water benefit certification, and replicable models across other industrial zones in the country.
