Wednesday 9th March 2022
The Santa Ponça water regeneration plant (ERA) comes into operation, which will allow reaching 85% of regenerated water compared to the current 12%
• The action, financed by the water treatment levy, represents a decisive step towards the objective of zero circularity and zero discharge.
• The Santa Ponça ERA becomes the most advanced water regeneration plant in the Balearic Islands and one of the leading plants in Spain.
The president of the government of the Balearic Islands, Francina Armengol; the mayor of Calvià, Alfonso Rodríguez Badal, and the regional minister for the Environment and Territory, Miquel Mir, visited this morning the new Santa Ponça Water Regeneration Plant (ERA), an infrastructure that represents a decisive step in the objective of circularity and a key instrument of the Calvià water regeneration and reuse plan. The visit was also attended by the deputy mayor and president of Calvià 2000, Marcos Pecos; the deputy mayor and councillor for the Santa Ponça area, Nati Francés, the councillor for the Environment and Ecological Transition, Rafel Sedano, and the manager of Calvià 2000, Javier González, as well as technical staff from the municipal company.
During the visit, President Armengol defended the importance of carrying out facilities such as the ERA in Santa Ponça to continue advancing "towards these Balearic Islands that have already proven to be pioneers in environmental policies, leaders in measures that promote circularity and leaders launching initiatives to mitigate the effects of climate change''. The president also thanked Calvià Town Hall for "the commitment", the work carried out and the vocation for collaboration with the regional government: "it is essential that the different institutions work together to promote improvements in the water cycle", she stated.
For his part, the mayor has stated that the presentation of this project is, for Calvià, «the clear demonstration of the will of the municipality for environmental protection. And being able to offer a second use to the water is very necessary because we will reduce the consumption peak, on the one hand, and because the water running out the emissary will do so with a quality that will minimise any impact on the sea, on the other." Rodríguez Badal has concluded that this is Calvià's commitment: for efficiency and environmental protection.
The regional minister for the Environment, Miquel Mir, has pointed out that "this infrastructure heralds the future of comprehensive management of the water cycle, a future in which we must continue to adapt our infrastructures to the climate emergency and the growing scarcity of a finite resource such as water".
The Santa Ponça Water Regeneration Plant (ERA)
Within the framework of the circular economy and environmental sustainability, Calvià Town Hall is developing a package of actions to optimise the water resources of the municipality of Calvià, amongst which especially highlights the promotion of the reuse of regenerated water whose emblematic premises is the new Santa Ponça Water Regeneration Plant (ERA Santa Ponça).
This new infrastructure, promoted by Calvià Town Hall through Calvià 2000, which has been financed through the Balearic Water Treatment Levy, has involved an investment of more than €5.3 million, and will considerably increase the availability of reclaimed water in the municipality, going from the current 12% to the target of 85% at the time of maximum production, approaching the reuse horizon of 100% of the treated water in the municipality.
The project has been developed with a modular approach, in such a way that it offers great production flexibility, allowing the production of reclaimed water with two levels of quality differentiated according to demand in the different intended uses.
On the one hand, up to 20,000 m3 per day of quality 2.1 will be produced, suitable for extensive uses, including the irrigation of golf courses, orchards and farms. On the other hand, up to 10,000 m3 per day of quality 1.1 will be obtained, suitable for all types of non-drinking urban uses, such as the irrigation of public green areas, private gardens or urban uses, the latter being the maximum quality defined in the regulations of water reuse.
The Santa Ponça ERA has been designed considering the production necessary to cover current demands and its expected evolution in the medium term, and the space and basic facilities have been provided for the future individualised expansion of the different processes that make it up based on the evolution and diversification of water uses in the longer term. In this way, the efficient use of the hydraulic plants is guaranteed while public investment is optimised.
Through advanced technology implemented at the highest level of treatment, the quality obtained will meet the strictest requirements in order to guarantee maximum health safety in daily use, and for this reason it is the most advanced water regeneration plant in the Balearic Islands and one of the leading plants nationwide.
The start-up of the new ERA in Santa Ponça is a key part of the Calvià water regeneration and reuse plan, which includes other measures such as the provision of reclaimed water distribution networks and regulation tanks or ponds, provision of irrigation networks for green areas and gardens, development of regulations based on sustainable water management and promotion and awareness raising actions amongst the different groups of interest, amongst other initiatives.
The actions in regeneration and reuse of water are part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of the UN 2030 Agenda, contributing to the reduction of the water and carbon footprints, providing environmental benefits and improving the socioeconomic and landscape environment of the municipality. For this reason, they constitute a priority axis within the strategic plan of Calvià Town Hall, whose long-term ambition is to reuse 100% of the treated water in the municipality, completely avoiding the discharge of water into the environment.