The entities that represent the three models of water management (public, private and mixed) collaborate to preserve the water resources of the Costa del Sol, improving the efficiency of the networks, the quality of the water and minimizing the environmental impact of water management. water resource, thanks to the digitization of its processes

HIDRALIA and Aguas de Benahavís, companies that manage the integral water cycle in three of the most representative municipalities of the Costa del Sol, such as Marbella, Estepona and Benahavís, and ACOSOL, a public operator that is in charge of high-level distribution and treatment of the 11 municipalities of the Western Costa del Sol, in addition to being the concessionaire of the home supply service in various towns in the region; have presented in a grouped way the PERTE of the water of the Costa del Sol in order to preserve the water resources of this area, characterized by being a scenario of increasing water stress and subject to the variable effects of climate change.

This proposal, which is part of the Strategic Projects for Economic Recovery and Transformation (PERTE), has a budget of €16,254,643, of which a subsidy of around €10 million is requested from Next Generation European funds, to promote the water resilience of the Western Costa del Sol through the digital transformation of the integral urban water cycle in the region, where water scarcity is structural. It is expected that this initiative will benefit around 565,000 inhabitants, although the population of the Costa del Sol varies in such a way during the summer season that it could exceed 1.2 million people.

To achieve digital transformation, it is proposed to sensorize the strategic points of the global system (from the capture of the resource to its return to the natural environment) to get the most out of current technology, including the use of expert systems and Artificial Intelligence in each phase of the process. complete water cycle. This sensorization will obtain objective data and, therefore, greater knowledge in detail and in real time of the different phases of the water cycle. The monitoring of the main water parameters and their analysis will make it possible to maximize the efficiency of the processes linked to the management of the resource.

Likewise, the strategic positioning in remote reading will allow us to subsidize the placement of more than 17,000 smart meters for our customers (12.5% of the current meter park), thus doubling the current number of customers who have this service now closer to subscribers, regardless of language limitations.

Through remote reading, these users will be able to consult in their personal space the consumption made up to the previous day, in daily and hourly frequencies, the creation of alerts to quickly detect abnormal consumption in the supply, notifying customers of possible leaks or excessive consumption.

HIDRALIA has the successful experience of digital management of the water cycle in Marbella, Estepona and Benahavís, which has made it possible to significantly improve the performance of the networks in recent years.

In the commitment to digitization, DINAPSIS Costa del Sol stands out as a cornerstone. This operational hub offers a suite of digital solutions, through more intelligent algorithms, to optimize the management and improvement of infrastructure maintenance and conservation, the preservation of water resources through the control of catchment wells, the reduction of leaks and control of water quality by having the entire network monitored in real time, exhaustive control of consumption through remote reading and work management through centralized planning, which also reduces emissions on the go.

In short, DINAPSIS is a digital brain at the service of water that makes it possible to make quick decisions in the face of unforeseen events, as well as advancing in the sustainable development of localities and improving their resilience, by reacting to climate crises in an immediate and coordinated manner to reduce the impact to citizenship.

This experience is now intended to be replicated in the rest of the municipalities of the Western Costa del Sol through this project, transforming the processes to put people at the center and apply solutions designed to improve the quality of life of citizens and the community. resilience of cities.
On the other hand, the project seeks to define the digitization strategy for the Western Costa del Sol aimed at allowing the integration of the data generated throughout the entire water cycle.

This will enable administrations to offer a more transparent, efficient and environmentally sustainable service, since those parameters that are collected throughout the entire network will be included in a data lake or data lake that will serve, not only to improve the water cycle, but to identify and solve other types of needs that cities may have. All these data will be put at the service of the different entities to be able to nurture joint management strategies.

Projects aimed at optimizing energy consumption and improving cybersecurity will also be carried out.

The project also presents an innovative scenario of public-private collaborative management between the three entities, which also represent three different types of management. On the one hand, HIDRALIA, a private company that manages the water cycle in the municipalities of Marbella and Estepona; on the other, ACOSOL, public operator of the Commonwealth of Municipalities of the Western Costa del Sol; and on the other, Aguas de Benahavís, as a mixed model between HIDRALIA and the City Council.

“It is a great opportunity to move towards a more intelligent management of the integral water cycle, to manage more and better collections, the efficiency of the networks or reclaimed water, taking advantage of the synergies between municipalities and operators in an area of water stress such as the Costa del Sol in Malaga, through public-private collaboration as an example of a driver of change and modernization in an increasingly globalized world”, stated Fulgencio Díaz, manager of Hidralia on the Costa del Sol.

For his part, Carlos Cañavate, has pointed out that "without a doubt, the PERTEs represent a challenge and a possibility of quantitative and qualitative improvement in terms of digitization and innovation that will facilitate our work for water managers and that will have repercussions and an impact on the municipalities to which we provide service and therefore directly to citizens, since thanks to the new management model the services we provide in the integral water cycle will be more efficient, operational and sustainable”.

For the elaboration of the project, we have had the support of relevant interest groups within the ecosystem of the Costa del Sol, such as the Cetaqua Andalucía Water Technology Center, the UMA through the Office of the Vice President together with the support of the Hydrogeology Center, the Commonwealth of Municipalities of the Western Costa del Sol, the ProDunas Association, Fundatul, CD Jacamar, Red Cross, Marbella Activa Association, College of Civil Engineers, Canals and Ports of Andalusia Ceuta and Melilla, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development of the Junta de Andalucía, in addition to the integrated municipalities.