The drought is here to stay. We thought it was a one-off episode of water shortage, but it was not. Drought now means prolonged periods of below-normal rainfall, so that water scares for people and agriculture are becoming increasingly common. Recurrent drought is affected by climate change, and its impact varies depending on the geographical location. Are we prepared for these emergency situations?
We understand that, in order to deal with drought, unpopular measures such as restrictions on agriculture, industry or tourism can be chosen, or specific technologies that can mitigate its effects as far as possible.
At Hidro-Water, as manufacturers of water treatment equipment, we assume the responsibility of caring for this precious element and we do so by designing sustainable equipment that respects the water environment, with an ever-present idea: to optimise every drop in each of the equipment and processes in which we intervene.
Therefore, with the “SAVE THE WATER”, campaign, we propose 3 options to attenuate the situation of water scarcity:to have new sources of water, to reuse the water already used, and/or to save water in the process without reducing the quality or the production for which it is intended.
NEW SOURCES OF WATER
Although it is not always feasible, we should ask ourselves if we can have new sources of water that are in our environment, in order to transform them into water of drinking or irrigation quality, and here we give several examples where we can opt for technology manufactured by Hidro-Water:
- To make seawater or brackish water drinkable: If such a source is available nearby, a reverse osmosis system for high conductivity, such as the HW-ROSW, can be installed. At Hidro-Water we have standard and customised versions of osmosis systems, depending on the quality of water to be obtained.
- Rainwater accumulation: In our climatic region it rains very little and when it does, torrential rains can occur. Harnessing this excess rainfall during periods of scarcity means obtaining a new source of water. In order to make rainwater drinkable, it must be conditioned after collection and storage. For this we use filtration, adsorption, disinfection and remineralisation equipment. All these treatments adapt their capacity depending on the final use of the water.
- Unused wells or new wells: There are municipalities or industries that have historical or forgotten wells that are no longer used because they are contaminated and that, in times of restrictions or droughts, could be an option to take into account. Hidro-Water has equipment that can solve the microbiological, organoleptic and toxic problems that may exist in the water.
We have advanced filtration systems equipped with resins and filter media that remove iron, manganese, arsenic…, nanofiltration, which retains only certain solutes and lets others through; reverse osmosis, which offers pure water; resins to remove nitrates; carbon as a filter media for the adsorption of pesticides… The analysis of the water and its use determines the solution chosen by Hidro-Water’s technical department.
REUSE WATER ALREADY USED IN OTHER PROCESSES
The myth of not wasting a drop can be realised with new technologies that recover much of the water consumed, while transforming process rejects and wastes into valuable resources.
Hidro-Water has equipment that can transform water already used for some processes into water of sufficient quality to be used for others, so that it can even be an economic advantage for the user in addition to the environmental one.
Grey-Water systems are an example of the reuse of domestic wastewater from showers, baths and sinks. This system allows the recycled water to be returned to circulation for use in cisterns, garden irrigation, washing and cleaning floors, saving more than 35% of the water we use.
Other treatments we have available to make water reusable are tertiary filtration and disinfection equipment at the outlet of a treatment plant, with a filter medium that is working very well for us, Quimhidro Crystal, complemented with HW industrial ultraviolet systems. These technologies ensure the removal of fine particles and the inactivation of pathogenic micro-organisms without the need for chemical additives, which significantly improves the quality of the treated water, making it suitable for reuse or safe discharge into the environment.
Strategies for dealing with each problem vary widely In other cases of more demanding water quality, the solution is provided by MBR membranes and MBR-K Reactors,which combine biological treatment processes with membrane filtration to offer a superior quality of treated water, optimal for reuse in irrigation or industrial uses, depending on the required water quality.
Another highly efficient and advanced system to improve the quality of reused water is the combination of Ultrafiltration together with special reverse osmosis for wastewater. This integrated approach makes the water suitable for a wide range of reuses and applications, achieving high purity if necessary.
SAVING WATER
Savings are at the heart of our strategy to mitigate the effects of drought. Water treatment processes generate reject water, and it is there, avoiding and minimising this adversity, where we put all our technological efforts and bring out all our arsenal of equipment that allows us to save water in every situation.
In 2024, together with Culligan, we have launched a campaign called SAVE THE WATER, focusing on the technologies we have at our disposal and manufacture to save and reuse water. The central points on which we focus are:
- Increase the efficiency of water recovery from reverse osmosis (RO) waste , by improving the conversion rate of conventional systems using customised RO-HW equipment.
- Decrease brine in softening systems by using softeners incorporating counter-current technology and Culligan’s Aquasensor system.
- Implement physico-chemical methods for the recovery of water used in filter washing, such as flocculators and decanters.
- Improve the efficiency of filtration systems, reducing the need for frequent backwashing by using equipment with specialised programming and precise instrumentation.
- Innovate in pool filtration systems with the Culligan HCF System, which reduces the water consumption required to clean conventional filters.
- Replace traditional filter media such as flint and anthracite with advanced alternatives such asQuimhidro TX-PLUS and CRISTAL, which require less water for backwashing, withstand higher loads and therefore reduce the frequency of maintenance, allowing the use of smaller filter sizes and contributing to water savings.
All of these equipment and their combinations are the tools we use when dealing with any water problem. The intelligent design of the individual parts and their assembly constitute a system with its own Hidro-Water brand value, which arises from the valuable ingenuity of our technical department to achieve the proposed objective.
HOW TO FIGHT AND WIN AGAINST WATER SCARCITY?
Firstly, it is necessary to remain optimistic even in the face of the most discouraging forecasts. We are facing an environmental challenge that we can meet because we have many technological innovations at our disposal that allow us to tackle the problem of water scarcity.
We cannot make it rain, but we can rethink the most efficient use of water and have the right technology in place for possible periods of drought.
Step by step, both at individual and company level, we need to consider the following:
- How much water do you use and how do you use it?
- Can you reduce consumption?
- Could you reuse the waste water?
- Could you implement more efficient water treatment technologies in your company?
- Do you have a system in place to monitor consumption in order to identify opportunities for improvement?
Hidro-Water’s experience in the sector allows us to advise companies and organisations on these issues. Water conservation is a vital priority and it is only through knowledge of the sector that we can help companies and organisations meet the challenges of drought and achieve long-term environmental sustainability.
DOES WATER SCARCITY CONDITION YOUR VISION OF THE FUTURE?
One of the challenges of the global future will be efficient water management. We can no longer postpone taking decisions to alleviate the effects of the drought because water is becoming a scarcer resource with each passing day, and because the quantity and quality of water required by the population, agriculture, livestock farming and industry is increasing over time.
At Hidro-Water we know that we have to reinvent the “water cycle”, to rewrite the rules. To this end, we optimise every drop, every process, every piece of equipment, with the aim of using and recovering water in industrial processes. We innovate in filters, in disinfection systems, in saving technologies that seemed unthinkable some time ago.
The challenge is enormous because we are not dealing with a one-off episode of drought, but with a paradigm shift in the relationship of human beings with the planet’s vital resources. However, we look to the future with optimism because we know that there are technological solutions at our disposal that will allow us to change the rules of the environmental game so that we can not only survive the persistent drought, but also thrive.
