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The plant is an example of circular economy since water, once purified, is stored waiting for farmers to use it to irrigate their crops.
Hidrogea, the company that is responsible for supplying water to more than one million inhabitants in the Region of Murcia, and ANSE, the Association of Ecologists of the Southeast, presented today at the United Nations Conference on Climate Change 2019 (COP 25) the "Malvasía Project", which has been working on the protection of biodiversity for three years in the lagoons of the Cabezo Beaza Water Treatment Plant in Cartagena with the objective of converting it into a green infrastructure.
In the presentation of this project, carried out at the stand that the Suez Group has in the IFEMA pavilion in Madrid, where this world summit is being developed, the CEO of the company in the Region of Murcia, Immaculate Serrano, has also been present , together with the representatives of ANSE.
As Jorge Sánchez explained during his presentation "these lagoons have great potential and the results obtained in recent years exceed those that have been registered in other similar lagoons in the Region of Murcia."
The lagoons of this plant cover an area of ​​30 hectares, are three to seven meters deep and receive 35,000 cubic meters of water a day that Hidrogea purifies from 200,000 inhabitants of the municipality of Cartagena.
These artificial rafts have become the habitat of more than thirty different species of waterfowl, including the white-headed malvasia, which is in danger of extinction.
These lagoons pass 7% of the Iberian population of this species and thanks to the work of recent years its reproduction has been achieved with great success.
To do this, floating islands were installed that allow the birth of new moths away from predators.
Three years ago Hidrogea, responsible for the management of the treatment plant, and ANSE decided to join efforts for the care and conservation of these waterfowl and since then, as explained by the biologist Jorge Sánchez, it has been achieved with spectacular success to ensure Its reproduction.
But in addition, both entities work with the objective of transforming this treatment plant into a green infrastructure and an example of circular economy, which has led them this morning to be one of the protagonists of COP25 as a sign of good practice.
Jorge Sánchez continued explaining that "the design of these lagoons made the nesting of birds very complicated, requiring shores with vegetation, because the embankment slopes are covered with gravel with hardly any plants. This prevented the nesting of species such as the common chicken, the common coot, the small zampullines or the white-headed malvasia, a globally threatened species. "
To solve this problem, ANSE, with Hidrogea, made successive prototypes of rafts with a large design, stability and safety until it was perfectly adapted to the needs of these birds for reproduction.
In addition to working with waterfowl, the Malvasía Project also includes the planting of native flora species replacing invasive plants, the laying of nests for bats and dissemination and monitoring activities among different sectors of the population, such as schoolchildren and families. .
More than forty new malvasia pups
On the other hand, Inmaculada Serrano explained that "the management of the treatment plant of Cabezo Beaza in Cartagena is a model to follow, since the whole process that is developed in the treatment of wastewater seeks environmental excellence. All the energy that used in the plant is renewable, we have zero waste and the purified water is stored in the rafts waiting for the irrigators to take it from the area for their crops. Therefore, this plant is an example of circular economy. "
The first floating island was installed in 2017 and after verifying the nesting of the malvasia, the number and size of the islands was expanded, placing two more.
Currently there are 4 islands with vegetation.
Sánchez explained the results of the project: "Some data point to a possible nesting of the Cabeciblanca Malvasia at the WWTP of Cabezo Beaza in 2017, but it was not until 2018 when four prongs of Cabeciblanca Malvasia were observed and confirmed."
He continues explaining that "animated by the results obtained, two new islands of even larger dimensions and with greater stability than the previous model were installed in 2019. During the spring of 2019 42 chickens of 11 moths were counted."
This project, which meets one of the SDGs of the United Nations, specifically the number 17 that talks about alliances to achieve objectives, is a case of success since it has achieved an exponential growth of the nesting population of Malvasia.
The UPCT, protagonist
The professor of the Polytechnic University of Cartagena (UPCT) and Director of the Chair of Hydrogea, Juan García Bermejo, participated today in a round table in which he spoke of the "Main challenges of the deficit basins in the face of climate change".
According to Juan García, from the UPCT a rainwater recovery line is being carried out to recharge aquifers, as is already being done in California.
A study is even being prepared to install reservoirs that collect rainwater on the roofs of buildings, yielding very positive data in terms of water recovery.
The professor of hydraulics stressed that "thanks to the monitoring of the supply network we know that in the 90s we lost 50% of the water, and that now we only lose 5%. But this monitoring does not exist in the houses and it would be very positive to take it to the citizen. "
Together with Juan García, Rubén Ruiz, Director of Operations Suez Spain, and Sebastián Delgado Amaro, General Director of Water of the Ministry of Agriculture and Water of the Region of Murcia participated in the round table.
Sebastián Amaro reported that "we are integrating renewable energy with solar fields for water elevation" and that "in September we will draw a line of subsidies for energy efficiency in irrigation."
He stressed the importance of knowing the carbon footprint of the products that are on the table and that our agriculture emits less and less CO2 emissions into the atmosphere.
Delgado said that a second purification and sanitation plan is underway.
Source: Agencias
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