In a world where freshwater demand is growing twice as fast as the population and 40% of global food production takes place in water-stressed regions, continuing to waste high-quality water in food processing is not just inefficient, it is unsustainable. Every liter lost in cleaning, cooking, cooling, or rinsing processes represents not only an operational cost but also a missed opportunity to move toward a truly circular economy. Today, the food industry faces the dual challenge of ensuring safety and traceability while reducing its water footprint under increasingly demanding standards.
This project offers a transformative solution: recovering, treating, and safely reusing water generated in food processing for productive purposes, reducing dependence on external sources and minimizing discharges. Through physical separation, advanced filtration, chlorine-free disinfection, and online monitoring, the facility can recover between 60% and 80% of water currently discarded, equivalent to over XX,000 m³ per year, enough to supply thousands of people’s annual domestic consumption. The change is structural: shifting from a linear “take-use-dispose” model to a circular system with measurable benefits under the VWBA 2.0 methodology (A-2: avoided consumption and A-6: safe onsite reuse), complemented by WQBA quality criteria to ensure food safety.
Located in [exact location], the project directly addresses a real and urgent market need: the convergence of water scarcity, tighter regulation, and pressure from clients and consumers to adopt sustainable production models. The initiative involves the industrial operator, a technology provider specializing in food industry water treatment, the project structurer under Water Positive standards, and an independent verification entity. The approach ensures additionality, traceability, and intentionality, turning recovered water into an environmental, reputational, and operational asset.
Currently, much of the water used in the food industry, for raw material washing, container rinsing, thermal processing, and equipment cleaning, is used only once before being discharged to treatment systems or sewers. This leads to excessive potable water consumption, high treatment costs, and significant environmental impact from effluent containing organic matter, fats, or detergents. Operationally, it creates vulnerability to supply restrictions and rising water tariffs.
The technical opportunity lies in applying tailored recovery and treatment systems adapted to each process’s water quality, maximizing internal reuse. The intervention combines solids separation, ultrafiltration, advanced oxidation, and UV disinfection, with real-time monitoring of physicochemical and microbiological parameters to ensure compliance with food industry regulations. The result: a XX% reduction in freshwater use, proportional decrease in discharges, and significant annual operational savings.
In the short term, the facility will achieve partial independence from external supply and reduce its water footprint, strengthening resilience to supply crises. In the medium and long term, the model can be replicated across other lines or plants, supporting a corporate strategy aligned with Responsible Consumption and Production (SDG 12) and Clean Water and Sanitation (SDG 6). Food sector companies with ESG commitments, SBTN targets, or interest in certifications such as AWS will find in this model a high-impact, easily auditable tool that delivers tangible benefits in reputation, competitiveness, and social license to operate.
An in-situ treatment and reuse system is proposed, featuring a compact design, automated operation, and modular scalability, enabling direct integration into the operational layout of food processing facilities. The solution consists of three interlinked functional modules operating continuously:
The treated and stabilized water complies with standards for reuse in internal non-critical applications such as external equipment cleaning, floor washing, ambient humidification, and indirect cooling systems. The system also enables real-time monitoring and visualization of recovered volumes, water savings, and quality improvements via an IoT interface connected to the cloud.
The implementation is structured in three consecutive phases, with an estimated total duration of 9 months. Each phase is designed to progressively validate technological components, integrate them into plant operations, and precisely measure water and quality benefits. Technologies used include high-frequency electroporation, dual UV systems, multi-stage physical filters, and IoT sensors for real-time monitoring. This approach ensures full traceability of impacts via the Aqua Positive platform.
Phase 1 – Engineering and Laboratory Testing (2 months): This phase involves comprehensive characterization of internal wastewater, differentiating between cleaning, rinse, and CIP flows. Parameters such as COD, turbidity, E. coli, total dissolved solids (TDS), temperature, and conductivity are measured. These data define the baseline and optimal capture points. Based on this information, the treatment hydraulic system is designed and technological modules (electroporation reactor, dual-pass UV, and physical filtration unit) are dimensioned. Laboratory tests validate treatment efficiency on representative samples.
Phase 2 – Installation and Commissioning (1 month): This phase includes physical installation of treatment modules in bypass configuration on existing return lines, ensuring no disruption to production. IoT sensors for flow, turbidity, ORP, and temperature are installed, and automatic control and safety shutdown protocols are configured. Commissioning includes hydraulic testing, operational stability trials, and an initial microbiological validation to ensure compliance with reuse standards. The phase concludes with full system verification under real load conditions.
Phase 3 – Operational Monitoring (6 months): Once stabilized, continuous monitoring begins. Operational (volume treated, energy use per m³, effective runtime) and quality parameters (turbidity, COD, E. coli, chlorides) are tracked. Monthly sampling campaigns are validated by external labs, and data are audited by a certifying body for VWBA/WQBA verification. All information is digitally recorded on the Aqua Positive platform, ensuring complete traceability and automated reporting for internal and external stakeholders.
This comprehensive approach, combining innovative treatment, digital control, external auditing, and traceability, ensures the project delivers tangible water benefits while meeting the technical and documentation robustness needed for replication and scaling across other industrial sites.
This project emerges as a technological and innovative solution to address the critical water challenges faced by a food industry located in Texas, within a region prioritized for sustainable water management. The facility, engaged in food product transformation and packaging, currently follows a linear water use scheme, drawing water from external sources and discarding it after a single use in cleaning, sanitation, and production. This model results in high volumes of effluent and unsustainable dependence on increasingly scarce water resources, particularly given the overexploitation of the Ogallala Aquifer.
In response, the project proposes the design and implementation of an in-situ water treatment and reuse system based on controlled-pulse electroporation technology. This approach removes pathogens and contaminants without the need for chemicals, membranes, or large infrastructure. The solution includes three main stages: selective capture of lightly contaminated water, electroporation treatment, and final polishing via physical filtration and UV disinfection. The entire system operates modularly, automatically, and is equipped with smart sensors for real-time visualization, measurement, and control.
The project is developed in three phases: engineering and lab testing (2 months), installation and commissioning (1 month), and operational monitoring (6 months). Each phase includes specific activities such as effluent characterization, microbiological validation, IoT sensor integration, operational adjustments, field sampling, and external verification. Key monitored parameters include treated flow rate, energy consumption, microbiological inactivation efficiency, and treated water quality (COD, E. coli, turbidity, TDS). Control is performed continuously with automated records and digital traceability via the Aqua Positive platform.
This intervention is structured under the VWBA 2.0 methodology to quantify the volume of recovered water replacing external withdrawals, and complemented by WQBA to demonstrate improvements in treated wastewater quality. An annual net recovery of over 5,000 m³ of water is projected, with permanent benefits as long as the system remains operational. Additionally, the project directly supports Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 6, 9, 12, 13, and 17), and lays the foundation for replicating the model at other industrial sites in the region.
With this initiative, the aim is not only to reduce pressure on local water resources, but also to position the company as a leader in responsible water management, technological innovation, and impact traceability through the Aqua Positive Marketplace.
