Benidorm presents its Reclaimed Water Master Plan with the goal of achieving 15% savings in water supplies

This morning, Benidorm City Council presented its Master Plan for promoting the reuse of reclaimed water in the municipality. This plan, launched under the slogan "Sustainable Benidorm: where water is reborn," complies with European regulations and once again positions the city as a pioneer among localities with a similar plan.

The implementation of this Master Plan will achieve the goal of saving 15% of the city's water supplies, as explained by municipal engineer Vicente Mayor during the presentation. The mayor highlighted that the Alicante coast is one of the most vulnerable areas to climate change due to the reduction in average rainfall, the increase in droughts, and the fact that water supplies in the Júcar basin could decrease by up to 5% by 2030 and 15% by 2050.

Added to this is urban growth and increased demand for water, which means that, in the face of water shortages, sustainability strategies must be implemented, such as reducing consumption in high-demand sectors, implementing resilient vectors in the management of the entire water cycle, generating desalination, and harnessing rainwater.

In Benidorm, annual consumption is estimated at around 10 cubic hectometers, of which one is used to irrigate gardens, while swimming pools require another half hectometer. Regarding water reuse, the treatment plant treats 13 hm3 per year, of which only four are reused for agriculture, urban irrigation, cleaning, and parks. In addition, the water from emptying swimming pools is used for street cleaning.

All the measures adopted since the 1978 water crisis have led to a decrease in water consumption despite the increase in population (37%) and visitors (57%). "In other words, all the investments made in the network are directly related to water savings in the city and the region," the engineer stated.

Water consumption in Benidorm depends on the resources supplied by the Marina Baixa Water Consortium, which can mobilize an average of 48 hm3 per year. In Benidorm, water supply demand accounts for 49% of total consumption, while irrigation demand accounts for 51%.

Regarding this aspect, the municipal engineer explained that public green areas cover 925,113 square meters, representing a potential irrigation demand of 0.38 hm3 per year. Private green areas, meanwhile, occupy an area of ​​1,852,926 square meters and represent a potential irrigation demand of 1.13 hm3 per year. In total, 1.51 hm3 between Benidorm's public and private green areas.

Thus, if Benidorm has a water demand of around 10 hm3 per year, the fact that 1.5 hectometers of reclaimed water could be used "would represent a saving of approximately 15% in the water inputs needed by the city," Mayor pointed out. Furthermore, the costs of reclaimed water, once the network is implemented, will be significantly lower than those of drinking water and will be regulated by municipal regulations.

The City Council is working toward having the first phase of the reclaimed water network operational within a year, and therefore expects to have the project drafted within a month to begin bidding. This first phase will be located in Poniente, an area with new urban developments that already has infrastructure to connect the reclaimed water network to neighborhood communities. It will cover approximately 6,300 homes, 156,000 square meters of public green areas, and 127,000 square meters of private green areas.

During the presentation of the Master Plan, the benefits of reclaimed water were also highlighted, both environmental (conservation of water resources, reduction of pollution, reduced impact on the water cycle), economic (savings in supply costs, electricity consumption, greater efficiency in agriculture, promotion of the circular economy), and social (increased availability of drinking water, water security in stressed areas).

At the end of the presentation, Mayor Toni Pérez emphasized that "we want to continue making Benidorm a more resilient city," and that a good example of this is "the clear commitment to increasing the use of reclaimed water so that it can reach private communities." He highlighted the benefits of having "an extraordinary team and the best technological partner: Hidraqua."

Pérez stated that the main objective is "to implement the reclaimed water network to bring this water to all the city's neighbourhoods" and emphasized that it will mean "savings of up to 15% in consumption throughout the city." "If we are already exemplary, now we can do even better," he added.

The mayor also highlighted the effort "to improve not only the quality of life in the city but also what we can offer the world," hence the strategies followed in recent decades that have resulted in "reducing consumption by 18% in 25 years while the population has grown by 40%." "We are exemplary in our use of water, and that makes the most sustainable industry, tourism, even more sustainable," the mayor concluded.