Water treatment

Water is the sustenance of all known life forms. Where there is water, life can thrive; where water is scarce, so is life. It’s cause for great concern, then, that this natural resource is becoming scarcer in many regions around the world.

Water fit for human consumption is called drinking water or potable water. In a 2006 report, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released some frightening statistics about drinking water. Nearly 1.1 billion people worldwide lack access to a safe source. Hundreds of millions more drink contaminated water because of unsafe treatment, distribution, storage and handling practices. And waterborne diseases account for approximately 4 billion episodes of illness and 1.8 million deaths every year, mostly among young children.

To make matters worse, water use has grown at twice the rate of population for the past century, and while there is not yet a global water shortage, nearly half the world’s population could be facing one by 2025 if we don’t find new, more reliable sources of clean water. Our collective goal needs to be providing sustainable access to safe drinking water for as many people as possible. Advanced water-treatment technology answers this needs.

Sustainability in action

The process of making salty or polluted water more acceptable for end use is called desalination. It requires turning salt water into fresh water, reducing the concentration of contaminants for industrial use and returning water that has been used back into the natural environment without negative ecological impacts. The interest in desalination is focused on developing cost-effective ways of providing fresh water for human use in regions where it is limited.

In addition to developing new sources of water suitable for human consumption and irrigation, we all need to make water conservation and water-use efficiency part of our daily routine. We will not only save water and power but money as well. For example, water your lawn only when needed, and if your community allows it, consider xeriscaping, such as using plants appropriate to your local climate and designing plant beds that take full advantage of rainfall. Inside your home, consider water- and energy-efficient appliances. The USEPA reports that EPA-certified Energy Star washing machines may use 35 percent less water per load, and you can conserve even more by adjusting the water level to match your load size.

ACCIONA's commitment

ACCIONA Agua is a pioneer in the engineering, construction, operation and maintenance of seawater and brackish water reverse-osmosis desalination. We operate more than 70 plants on a global scale in this sector with a total installed capacity of over 420 million gallons (1.6 million cubic meters) per day. In Torreivieja, Spain, ACCIONA Agua is developing the largest desalination plant in Europe and the second largest in the world. We will soon commence operations at our Thames Gateway Project, which will supply 900,000 people across Northeast London with drinking water extracted and treated from the Thames Estuary.

We also have a highly visible presence in the U.S. with our award-winning desalination plant based in Tampa Bay, Florida, and our pilot plant in Monterey, California. The Tampa Bay facility, run with our partner American Water, is the largest desalination plant currently in operation in the U.S. and  meets 10 percent of the drinking water needs of the 2.5 million people in the Tampa Bay region. Having garnered multiple awards, including the prestigious GWI Desalination Plant of the Year, the facility has a bright future. With an expected lifespan of 30 to 50 years and the ability to accommodate future expansion of up to 35 million gallons per day, ACCIONA Agua can serve the Tampa Bay region with more reliable water resources for years to come.

In Monterey, California, California American Water partnered with ACCIONA Agua to develop a solution that could meet the clean water needs of its customers, comply with state-mandated limits and ensure the health of local fish and wildlife. Thanks to desalination technology, instead of relying on ecologically sensitive local freshwater sources, a pilot plant is in operation to prove that the ocean can serve as a source of clean water supplies.