The Costa del Sol becomes a hub of innovation for the efficient management of water resources through digitisation

– Last week, Hidralia and Cetaqua organized a forum that brought together more than 30 professionals to address the specific challenges facing the Western Costa del Sol in terms of water management.

– The event served to present the progress of Waterverse and MAR2Protect, two European R+D+i projects that aim to improve the management of water resources in the Andalusian region thanks to Artificial Intelligence (AI).

 In recent weeks, rainfall has allowed water levels in the Guadalhorce reservoirs to exceed the most critical drought threshold and the province of Malaga has experienced an increase of 50 hm³ in the month of March, equivalent to a year’s worth of water consumption in the capital. However, the Western Costa del Sol continues to face an exceptional situation of severe drought due to the scarcity of rainfall in recent hydrological years.

Facing this situation, Hidralia and Cetaqua have organized a meeting that has brought together more than thirty water professionals, both from the public and private sectors, to present the progress of Waterverse and MAR2Protect, two innovation projects funded by the European Commission that seek to enhance urban resilience in the region.

Innovation as an answer to ensure water sustainability in the Western Costa del Sol

The headquarters of Aguas de Torremolinos, a company participated by Hidralia, was the place chosen to announce the progress and next steps of the projects, as well as to discuss the needs of the Western Costa del Sol and identify synergies between the different water stakeholders in order to ensure a more efficient management of water resources in the region.

The event served as a meeting to celebrate the second Waterverse Multi-Stakeholder Forum, where the water-related data ecosystem, developed for the Western Costa del Sol, was presented in order to improve the resilience of water utilities. The project has the collaboration of 17 entities from 10 European countries, including Hidralia, an Andalusian company with more than 25 years of experience in the management of the integral water cycle.

Similarly, during the day was also held the first MAR2Protect Living Lab Workshop, a project that seeks to develop AI-based tools to assess the impacts of climate change on the quality and availability of groundwater, as well as to promote the managed recharge of aquifers.

The workshop provided an opportunity to discuss the objectives and expected results of the project, focusing on sustainable groundwater management and managed aquifer recharge as the main topics.