Benidorm awards the contract to implement the reclaimed water network in Poniente

Benidorm City Council, through its Governing Board, has awarded the contract to Hidraqua, Integrated Management of Levante Waters, to execute the reclaimed water network project, Phase I, Western Zone. The company's bid proposes an investment of €384,382.85 and a three-month completion period.

The project is a necessary action to achieve the objectives defined in the Sustainable Tourism Destination Plan (PSTD) 2022 (Green and Sustainable Transition), part of the Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience Plan (PRTR), Component 14, Investment 1, Submeasure 2, financed by the European Union with Next Generation EU funds, which allowed for the submission of proposals to local entities and autonomous communities, "Benidorm Vision 360." This plan included 13 actions grouped into four strategic axes. In this case, the project was part of Axis 1: Green and Sustainable Transition, which includes Project 2B, Phase I, Reclaimed Water Network. The file was processed as standard, and the procedure has been opened.

The work will be carried out in the western area near the beach, an area with a high concentration of pedestrians. Therefore, as explained by the Councillor for Water Cycle, José Ramón González de Zárate, "it is vitally important that the awarded company implement the necessary work safety, organisational, and environmental measures to ensure the work is carried out without causing accidents of any kind."

The Benidorm City Council, the councillor recalled, has installed various supply points and sections of reclaimed water pipelines in several areas of the municipality, "as part of the work we have carried out on public roads to renovate hydraulic infrastructure."

This project will execute the first phase of the reclaimed water mainline network for irrigating parks and gardens in the area surrounding the Racharell, Xixo, and La Cala ravines, with an estimated potential demand of 6,300 homes, 156,000 square meters of public green areas, and 127,000 of private green areas.
González de Zárate emphasised that the implementation of this reclaimed water network "will make an important contribution to the municipality's environmental sustainability by reducing pressure on drinking water resources and allowing its use in non-potable urban applications, such as irrigating green areas and other landscape and public service uses."

The head of the Water Cycle described the project as "pioneering and powerful" and announced that the intention is to "progressively implement it throughout the city." This first phase will begin after the Festes Majors Patronals (Major Patronal Festivals) "so that it will be completed by January, and any property owner in that area will have access to this water to irrigate their gardens, and the municipal water service will have access to reclaimed water to irrigate public gardens." The most notable aspect of this project, González de Zárate emphasized, is "the significant savings generated in the cost of drinking water, which is a much-needed resource."