We assume that when we turn on the faucet water comes out. It is an almost automatic, everyday gesture that we rarely stop to think about. However, ensuring that this resource springs up clean and safe in Benidorm, a city that its population triples In the middle of the summer high season, it requires a true miracle of engineering and management.
In the Marina Baixa, one of the regions of the Valencian Community with greater water stresscatering to millions of annual visitors is a colossal puzzle. As reported by local mediathe philosophy of those who operate this gear is perfectly summarized by Ciriaco Clemente, manager of Veolia in Benidorm: “In a territory where the pressure on water resources is structural and permanent, guaranteeing that the water reaches the tap in perfect sanitary conditions and that, once used, it returns to the environment without damaging it is not an option, it is an obligation.”
The challenge of quantity and quality. The water challenge is not exclusive to the Alicante coast, it is a national problem. According to official data from the Ministry of Health (SINAC)the quality of water in Spain is increasingly threatened. The filtration of nitrates from industrial agricultural activity is saturating the self-cleaning capacity of many aquifers, putting local water treatment plants in hundreds of municipalities in check, especially in inland Spain.
While much of inland Spain deals with nitrate pollution, Benidorm faces its own perfect storm: extreme seasonal demand and the threat of shortages. The city not only needs to ensure that there is enough water for everyone, but that its quality is impeccable under all circumstances, regardless of whether it comes from the Guadalest reservoir, the Amadorio reservoir or the Bajo del Algar Canal. To overcome this crisis, the tourist capital has shielded itself around two essential infrastructures managed by Veolia: the Drinking Water Treatment Station (ETAP) and the Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP).
Beyond thirst. Water quality is synonymous with public health and economic survival. In fact, consuming water with nitrate levels close to or higher The European legal limit of 50 mg/L carries serious risks, and recent medical studies suggest that even much lower thresholds could be linked to oncological problems. Treating water to the millimeter is, therefore, a matter of life or death.
On the economic level, as the newspaper highlights Informationfor the enormous hotel plant in Benidorm, opening the tap and letting water flow with total health guarantees “is not a secondary detail: it is a basic requirement to operate and to maintain the trust of visitors.” In addition, the system must be able to withstand the onslaught of the weather. According to Alicante Plazathe ETAP faces extreme scenarios after episodes of torrential rains, when the water collected arrives with enormous turbidity due to the dragging of sediments. Given this, the plant adjusts its treatments in real time. “Our responsibility does not end with there being water; it ends when that water reaches the tap in perfect condition,” says Noelia Llinares, ETAP plant manager, in these media.
Leaving behind traditional management. As detailed by Veoliathe answer is in technology. A digital ecosystem has been deployed in Benidorm that includes network-wide sensors, leak detection algorithms and remote control systems. This has allowed the milestone of reducing water losses in the network to minimum levels of 5%. To support this burden, ETAP itself already received a powerful injection of more than 9 million euros in its last major expansion in 2010.
But the cycle does not end at the sink. The WWTP works under a strict circular economy philosophy: used water is not waste, it is a resource. Today, 35% of the water that reaches the treatment plant is already reused, mainly for agricultural irrigation. And there is an extra factor that adds complexity: wastewater treatment plants are electricity devourers. To counteract this, María José Martínez, head of the WWTP, details that the facility uses byproducts such as biogas or sludge to generate its own energy. “The objective is clear: for the plant to become increasingly self-sufficient and for its environmental footprint to be as small as possible,” says Martínez.
The next challenge: squeeze regeneration. Behind all this there is an ambitious project underway: the Regenerated Water Master Plan. The short-term objective is to take advantage of up to 2 additional cubic hectometers of regenerated water for purely urban uses, alleviating the suffocation of conventional sources and reinforcing the network against drought.
Benidorm has empirically demonstrated that the high numbers of mass tourism and water sustainability are not antagonistic concepts, but rather necessary allies. In a context marked by climate change, the experience of the city of Alicante provides an inescapable journalistic and vital lesson: intelligent water management is no longer a simple competitive advantage or a green slogan. It is, purely and simply, a question of survival. Every drop counts, from the moment it is dammed until, thanks to engineering, it is regenerated to start again.
Image | Diego Delso
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