The Life Matrix project, within the framework of the European Life program, its main objective is to demonstrate the technical, environmental and health feasibility of a Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) system with reclaimed water, treated wastewater subjected to complementary treatment processes for reuse. Thus, the Costa del Sol has been chosen as a pilot site for the Life Matrix project.
The Life Matrix solution consists of a combination of three aspects: physical, from the adequacy of the quality of the reclaimed water for its recharge in the aquifer; digital, by integrating all the information into a risk management tool; and governance, according to the establishment of guidelines that help to standardize this system of recharging under a legal or regulatory framework at national and European level, as reported in a statement.
Life Matrix will demonstrate its solution on the Costa del Sol, more specifically in the Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) of La Víbora, in Marbella, managed by Acosol, a public company belonging to the Association of Municipalities of the Western Costa del Sol. This location has been chosen for being one of the most touristic areas in Spain, which has two key factors. On the one hand, it is an area with great water stress and, on the other hand, the demand for water doubles during the summer months as a result of the increase in the tourist population. Therefore, they assured, “it is necessary to better integrate unconventional water resources (such as reclaimed water) in management plans.”
The managed aquifer recharge system proposed by Life Matrix combines the application of technologies based on the capacity of the geological environment for the additional treatment of water with a strict control of the objective quality parameters in the three phases –water, soil and aquifer–, in order to ensure the optimum quality of the recharged water. In this regard, they pointed out that Life Matrix will reuse 50,000 cubic meters of reclaimed water to recharge aquifers by surface infiltration, thus increasing available underground water resources by 15% and reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. greenhouse by 99%, compared to other technologies used.
All this will be possible to the work of the project consortium. Life Matrix, co-financed by the LIFE program of the European Commission, is coordinated by Cetaqua Andalucía, Andalusian Water Research Center Foundation; and has the participation of Cetaqua Barcelona, the Water Technology Center; the Hydrogeology Center of the University of Malaga (Cehiuma) and Acosol.