The global water crisis is not only a technical challenge but a defining call to action of the 21st century. As industrial and urban demand for freshwater rises at an unprecedented pace, availability is declining alarmingly due to climate change, pollution, and aquifer overexploitation. Mexico embodies this urgency: more than 60% of its aquifers are already overdrawn, and in Aguascalientes annual per‑capita availability is below 1,000 m³, a level that the United Nations (UN) classifies as severe water stress. This scarcity threatens households, agriculture, and industry alike, putting the continuity of production and the well-being of over one million inhabitants at risk.
Amid this reality, the project emerges as a bold and visionary response: an integrated reuse system installed within a major automotive facility that recovers and reprocesses industrial wastewater. The treatment train incorporates multiple advanced stages, physicochemical pretreatment, ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis, and chemical‑free advanced disinfection, designed to reach a nominal capacity of 1,000 m³/day. This translates into more than 250,000 m³ of water reused annually, equivalent to the annual domestic consumption of more than 5,000 households, a figure that allows the reader to grasp the magnitude of the benefit in relatable terms.
The strategic objective is clear: transform a linear model of consumption and discharge into a closed‑loop, circular cycle that produces measurable environmental, social, and economic benefits. By embedding this model in Aguascalientes, a basin under extreme hydrological stress, the project contributes to aquifer recovery, ensures industrial continuity, and enhances regional water security. Its raison d’être is grounded in providing resilience for production and relief for an overexploited aquifer, while at the same time setting a replicable benchmark for the automotive sector and other high‑demand industries.
The market context further justifies the initiative: stricter environmental regulations are being enacted, ESG‑linked financing is growing, and industrial operations face reputational and operational risks when they depend on dwindling resources. In this scenario, moving towards water circularity is not just an environmental imperative but a business necessity that anticipates global trends.
Actors involved include the plant operator, specialized technology providers, structurers applying VWBA and WQBA methodologies, and accredited external verifiers who guarantee credibility, traceability, and compliance. Together, they ensure that the project fully aligns with the Water Positive strategy and adheres to the principles of additionality, intentionality, and traceability. This governance framework not only validates the results but also strengthens stakeholder trust and positions the initiative as an inspiring model for replication worldwide.
Automotive operations in Mexico depend heavily on water-intensive processes such as painting, cooling, and washing, and until now these demands were largely supplied through direct groundwater extraction. This practice has aggravated the structural deficit of more than 200 million m³ per year in the Aguascalientes aquifer, intensifying environmental stress, generating higher treatment costs, and creating reputational risks for industry. The pressure on the basin reflects both operational inefficiencies and structural conditions: limited alternative supplies, weak enforcement of extraction limits, and the lack of advanced reuse systems have perpetuated unsustainable withdrawals.
The reuse project represents a decisive technical and strategic shift that redefines how an industrial facility interacts with its surrounding basin. Located within an automotive hub in Aguascalientes, the intervention is not a single action but a comprehensive transformation of the water cycle inside the plant. The project unfolds in phases, beginning with a thorough diagnostic stage where consumption patterns, effluent volumes, and pollutant loads are quantified, establishing the without-project baseline that evidences over-extraction and untreated discharges. Based on this foundation, the design phase evaluates multiple alternatives, from constructed wetlands to conventional chlorination, but ultimately selects a treatment train composed of clarification, ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis, and chemical-free advanced disinfection. This choice reflects rigorous criteria of efficiency, traceability, and scalability, ensuring both technical robustness and alignment with Water Positive principles.
Installation is carried out in modular units over approximately eight months, integrating SCADA platforms, IoT multiparameter sensors, and automated alarms from the outset to secure continuous monitoring. Commissioning extends for three months, during which external audits validate that the system achieves its nominal capacity of 1,000 m³/day, with recoveries surpassing 85% and compliance with NOM-003-SEMARNAT and ISO standards. Once operational, the facility enters a continuous operation phase, with water traced physically from capture to reuse and digitally through connected platforms that provide real-time data and auditable reports for VWBA/WQBA verification.
Each cubic meter regenerated, over 250,000 m³ annually, directly offsets groundwater withdrawals, reduces pollutant discharges by more than 90% in BOD and TSS, and cuts indirect CO₂ emissions linked to freshwater pumping and off-site treatment. Beyond the environmental metrics, the solution secures production continuity, lowers operating costs, and strengthens the plant’s social license to operate. Risks such as membrane fouling, influent variability, and hydrological fluctuations are mitigated with redundant equipment, predictive analytics, and contingency protocols, while governance agreements clarify roles between operator, technology providers, and independent verifiers. Preventive and corrective maintenance routines, coupled with predictive modeling, ensure the permanence of benefits and minimize downtime.
The replicability of the model is enhanced by its modular design and digital backbone, allowing adaptation to other sectors like agri-food, mining, or energy, and to regions under similar water stress. Its cost-benefit ratio compares favorably with conventional supply expansion or effluent management alternatives, making it competitive under both technical and financial lenses. Partnerships with authorities, local communities, and technology allies provide the ecosystem for expansion, while ESG-linked financing and regulatory frameworks create a favorable environment to act now. Companies that embrace this model achieve not only regulatory compliance but also reputational differentiation, visibility in global value chains, and verifiable alignment with Net Positive Water Impact (NPWI), Science-Based Targets for Water, and VWBA principles.
The solution is built on a hybrid technical approach that integrates physicochemical pretreatment, ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis, and advanced disinfection without chlorine, producing high-quality regenerated water suitable for sensitive processes such as painting, washing, and cooling. During the design phase, alternatives including constructed wetlands and conventional chlorination were carefully evaluated; although both offered partial solutions, they were discarded due to limitations in treatment efficiency, lack of parameter traceability, and reduced scalability under industrial conditions. The chosen configuration responds to stringent efficiency and reliability criteria and ensures alignment with Water Positive standards.
The system operates with a nominal capacity of 1,000 m³/day, enabling the recovery and reuse of more than 250,000 m³ per year. This transformation delivers quantifiable benefits: reductions of over 90% in BOD and TSS, significant decreases in pollutant discharges to the environment, and lower indirect CO₂ emissions associated with pumping and external treatment of freshwater. The technical solution is not only gray infrastructure but also digital, thanks to the integration of IoT multiparameter sensors and SCADA platforms, providing real-time traceability and automated reporting for VWBA/WQBA audits.
Risks exist, as in any complex water project. Potential challenges include membrane fouling, variability in influent quality, hydrological fluctuations in the basin, and even social acceptance regarding the reuse of treated water. To mitigate them, the project incorporates redundant equipment for critical units, preventive maintenance routines, predictive analytics for membrane performance, and contingency protocols that guarantee continuous operation. Governance is reinforced through external verification and shared responsibility agreements that define roles for operators, technology providers, and independent auditors.
Resilience to long-term climate variability is ensured by designing for conservative recovery rates (>85%), incorporating adaptive operation modes that adjust to seasonal demand, and embedding protocols against critical risks such as potential contamination, supply scarcity, or saline intrusion. These elements secure the durability of the benefits and the credibility of volumetric water claims under VWBA principles.
The model is highly replicable: its modular design allows scaling to other industrial sectors or regions facing similar water stress, while its cost/benefit ratio remains competitive compared to traditional supply or discharge management. Partnerships with public institutions, local communities, and technology allies make expansion feasible and strengthen the social license to operate. For companies with ambitious ESG commitments, adopting this solution not only guarantees regulatory compliance but also generates reputational leadership, differentiation in global markets, and alignment with Net Positive Water Impact (NPWI) and Science-Based Targets for Water.
The implementation of the project is structured under a phased and adaptive approach that ensures both technical rigor and verifiable results. It begins with a baseline and diagnosis stage, where flows, consumption, and effluent quality are characterized through water balances, sampling, and metering. This phase provides the without-project scenario, quantifying volumes extracted, pollutants present, and operational inefficiencies. Based on this diagnosis, the design and installation phase defines the optimal treatment configuration, physicochemical pretreatment, ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis, and advanced disinfection, integrated into modular units that facilitate scalability and compact installation. Digital systems such as SCADA and IoT sensors are embedded from the outset to guarantee real-time monitoring. Installation requires approximately eight months, during which all civil works, hydraulic connections, and equipment assembly are executed.
Commissioning and validation follow, lasting three months, in which the plant is calibrated to deliver its nominal capacity of 1,000 m³/day with recoveries exceeding 85%. During this period, external audits verify compliance with NOM-003-SEMARNAT and ISO benchmarks, ensuring the regenerated water meets national and international standards. Once validated, continuous operation begins, supported by IoT sensors, multiparameter probes, and SCADA platforms that track water quality, flow, and performance. The system generates alarms in case of deviations, with contingency protocols that allow immediate corrective actions. External verifiers conduct periodic audits to confirm additionality, intentionality, and traceability under VWBA/WQBA.
Throughout operation, physical traceability of water is ensured from capture to reintegration into production processes, while digital traceability is provided by integrated platforms that compile and report data for both internal use and external verification. Governance agreements assign responsibilities between the operator, technology providers, and verifiers, including preventive and predictive maintenance programs designed to avoid membrane failures and ensure operational continuity. Maintenance routines are scheduled weekly, monthly, and annually, with predictive analysis based on membrane performance and water quality data.
Performance is tracked through KPIs such as volumes reused, pollutants reduced (BOD, TSS, coliforms), energy savings, and associated CO₂ reductions. Measurements are taken daily through online sensors and validated monthly with certified laboratory analyses. These data are systematically compared against the baseline to quantify the net benefit, in accordance with VWBA 2.0 tracking and reporting principles. Feedback loops allow operational parameters to be adjusted in real time, ensuring continuous improvement. Over the long term, scheduled technology upgrades and adaptive operation modes secure resilience against climate variability and ensure the permanence of benefits. In this way, the project consolidates an implementation framework that is auditable, replicable, and resilient.
The technical intervention at the core of this initiative is the reuse of industrial effluents through a comprehensive treatment and recirculation system. The process unfolds in multiple stages: physicochemical pretreatment to remove oils and suspended solids; ultrafiltration to guarantee fine particle and microorganism removal; reverse osmosis to achieve high-quality water standards; and advanced disinfection without chlorine to secure safe reuse in sensitive operations like painting, washing, and cooling. With a nominal capacity of 1,000 m³/day, the installation produces more than 250,000 m³/year of regenerated water. This performance not only meets but surpasses national regulations such as NOM-003-SEMARNAT, aligns with international ISO quality standards, and follows the best practices recommended by OMS and European water reuse frameworks.
The relevance of the solution lies in addressing one of the most pressing challenges of the Aguascalientes basin: the structural overdraft of more than 200 million m³ annually. Before implementation, the plant depended almost entirely on groundwater extraction and discharged effluents with pollutant loads; after the intervention, withdrawals are reduced by over 250,000 m³/year and pollutant discharges drop by more than 90% in BOD and TSS. The contrast between the before and after scenarios underscores its adequacy in this highly stressed hydrological context, delivering environmental relief, regulatory compliance, and operational resilience simultaneously.
Concrete results expected include: 250,000 m³/year of water reused, pollutant reductions exceeding 90% in key parameters, significant cuts in indirect CO₂ emissions due to less pumping and treatment of freshwater, and improved environmental conditions for the surrounding basin. Additional co-benefits encompass healthier ecosystems, reduced risk of saline intrusion, strengthened public health by lowering contamination risks, and economic savings from reduced operating costs.
From a strategic and commercial standpoint, the project reinforces the Water Positive roadmap by demonstrating additionality, traceability, and intentionality. It provides tangible ESG benefits: securing social license to operate, enhancing corporate reputation, achieving competitive differentiation, and ensuring compliance with both national and international regulatory frameworks. It also integrates seamlessly into broader sustainability commitments such as SBTi, NPWI, the SDGs, and ESRS E3, making it a credible and verifiable contribution to global targets.
The replicability and scalability of the model are ensured by its modular and digital design. It can be adapted to other basins, industries, and geographies under water stress, including agri-food, energy, or mining sectors. Conditions that favor expansion include regulatory frameworks that incentivize water reuse, community acceptance strengthened through transparent communication, and alliances with governments, operators, and technology providers.
The final expected impact extends beyond the facility: the project contributes directly to the hydrological balance of the San Pedro River basin by reducing groundwater demand, improves resilience to climate change through efficient and circular water use, and strengthens local communities by safeguarding jobs, improving health conditions, and ensuring more secure access to water. The message it sends to investors, clients, and society is clear: it is possible to lead a transition towards a regenerative, circular economy where water is managed as a strategic resource and not as a disposable input.
