Aquara, an Aragonese company specialized in the management of the integral water cycle, has presented its technological solutions to help municipalities to optimize and preserve water and minimize costs with digitalized management.

The ecological transition in Aragon comes hand in hand with the digitalization of the water sector, a transformation for which alliances and collaboration between companies and administrations are essential. Precisely to generate synergies and share knowledge and experiences that help municipalities to accelerate this transition has been the objective of the conference 'Solutions for the digital and sustainable transition of water management in Aragonese municipalities' that has been developed today in SMAGUA, hand in hand with the Aragonese Institute of Water and the cluster for the efficient use of water, Zinnae.

The person in charge of opening the day has been the Commissioner for the 2030 Agenda of the Government of Aragon, Fermín Serrano, in which he has highlighted the role of digitization and alliances in the contribution of the 2030 Agenda in the autonomous community because in terms of sustainability we cannot “move forward alone”.

Next, the president of the Aragonese Federation of Municipalities, Counties and Provinces, Luis Zuibieta; the Area coordinator. S.G. of Programming and Economic and Budgetary Management of the General Directorate of Water (MITECO), Adolfo Torres and the director of the Aragonese Institute of Water, Dolores Fornals, have presented financing and support measures as an opportunity for municipalities when it comes to digitizing the management of municipal water services.

The knowledge and experience has been given by six companies in the water sector in the second part of the morning at the table ‘Technological solutions for municipal water management. Presentation of solutions and examples'.

"It is about making technological and digital solutions available to city councils that make hydraulic operations more efficient, sustainable and resilient, something that ensures us to provide a better service to citizens, minimize costs and promote the ecological transition in the territory", has assured José Ignacio Heredero, manager of Aquara. This Aragonese company has been providing water supply, distribution and purification services to more than 777,000 Aragonese for 30 years. Present in 23 municipalities in the three provinces and with 813 kilometers of supply network, 514 of sanitation, 11 drinking water treatment stations and another 15 treatment plants, Aquara has been using technology for years in its daily work.

The first step, as José Ignacio Heredero has indicated to those present, is to measure and monitor, something that can be achieved by installing sensors in the networks and hydraulic installations that collect data in real time. The information obtained helps to "predict the behavior of the networks, maintain the quality of the water and prevent possible leaks", so that "the data is transformed into value for decision making", added the Aquara manager.

To this end, the company has presented its Aquadvance Suite tool, a platform that allows to combine the geographic information of all the elements of the distribution and sewerage networks, the monitored data of pressures, flows, volumes, losses or leaks and other elements related to the quality of the water and the operation of the service, in an intuitive interface and accessible from all the devices. It is an advanced control system that makes it easier for the user to detect events or incidents and allows them to act in advance. "We use technology as an ally to preserve the resource and improve the water and energy efficiency of the supply, sanitation and purification systems."

And it is that digitization represents an opportunity to optimize costs and resources in the management of municipal water services. Beyond saving water to guarantee its continuity and universal access, as established in Sustainable Development Goal number 6, with technology “we save energy, optimize the use of chemical reagents necessary for water treatment and reduce incidents and breakdowns in the water. service, extending the useful life of the infrastructures ”, stressed José Ignacio Heredero.

During the debate, moderated by Marisa Fernández, manager of Zinnae, other companies such as Aqualia, Contazara, Global Omnium, Facsa, Sastesa and Veolia also shared their solutions on the matter.

The International Water and Irrigation Show, SMAGUA, has celebrated its 2021 edition at the Zaragoza Trade Fair these days with more than 300 exhibitors and the development of around a hundred technical conferences and exhibitions in which it has participated the most relevant firms in the sector. One of them is Agbar, a group of companies to which Aquara belongs, which has offered its experience and vision in tables linked to the new directive on water for human consumption or remote reading as a lever to promote the digital transformation of the water cycle.