World Sanitation Day (or World Toilet Day), which is celebrated today, November 19, has been promoted by the United Nations since 2013. This year its motto is "Sustainable sanitation and climate change" and seeks to raise awareness about the new reality to the one we face. Floods, droughts, and rising sea levels can damage any part of a public sanitation system and lead to wastewater discharges, which can create a public health emergency, as well as deteriorate the environment. For this reason, it is urgent to strengthen sanitation systems to withstand inclement weather and be sustainable.

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the vital importance of water and sanitation services to prevent and contain infectious diseases, including cholera and typhoid fever. Public-private partnerships, point 17 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, are basic to universalize them.

Circular economy and innovation to overcome challenges

Aquona, committed to the quality of life of people, treats 44 hm3 of water a year in the wastewater treatment plants that it manages in Castilla-La Mancha and Castilla y León. It applies the basic principles of the circular economy in sanitation by reusing 760,000 cubic meters of water per year and valuing 100% of the sludge produced in its treatment plants for later use in the agricultural sector. In addition, Aquona is working to advance the energy self-sufficiency of the treatment plants, in which the biofactory project that is being developed at the Palencia WWTP stands out, an installation that already produces more than 50% of the energy it consumes.

The new challenge in the face of climate change is to ensure that cities evacuate an increasing flow of water (wastewater and rainwater) with the least ecological impact. Therefore, a revolution in management is necessary, hand in hand with digitization and new technologies. It involves introducing sensors throughout the network, treating the data globally, developing sewer cleaning programs and comprehensively managing tanks and reservoirs.
Technological innovation related to sanitation is also essential in the fight against the pandemic, in which anticipation is essential. For this, Aquona, together with SUEZ Spain, the business group to which it belongs, has developed City Sentinel, a monitoring tool that detects and quantifies the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in wastewater, which allows monitoring the evolution of viruses and predict possible outbreaks. This early warning tool is implemented in towns such as Benavente, Ponferrada, Villamayor de Calatrava or Albacete, where it is developed thanks to the joint venture formed by the City Council of Albacete and Aquona, Aguas de Albacete.

Responsible sanitation: everyone's action is essential

In addition, given the exceptional situation of more hours spent in homes created by the pandemic, the company recalls the importance of not flushing cigarette butts, oil, personal care products (masks, wipes, tampons and swabs) down the toilet and sink. among others) and medications. These wastes are responsible for important clogs in the downspouts of neighboring communities and public sewers, with an increase in the cost of between 10 and 15% in the cost of maintaining the networks, that is, an additional 230 million euros per year in Spain according to the Spanish Association of Water Supply and Sanitation (AEAS).