Life Conquer – Water reuse for irrigation

Water reuse

for irrigation

Conquer is a European project co-funded by the LIFE Programme that aims to promote the circular economy model through the development of an innovative system to reuse contaminated water infiltrated into residential areas, maintaining the necessary nutrients and eliminating high concentrations of salts, for irrigation applications in the city of Murcia.

Water reuse is the way to go

Water scarcity is no longer limited to a few regions of Europe, but already a concern across the EU, with one third of the territory experiencing water stress.

Water reuse has been evidenced as the most sustainable alternative to the use of freshwater sources in terms of cost and environmental impact. However, wastewater salinity is still a challenge in wastewater treatment (WWTP) and reclamation (WRP) plants, where collectors receive industrial brines, agricultural runoff waters and/or marine intrusion.

CONQUER will tackle this situation by developing an innovative solution that will enable water reuse for irrigation, thus promoting circular economy.

Conquer in numbers

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BUDGET

partners

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duration

An innovative solution to close the loop

Conquer will develop an innovative water reclamation plant (WRP) to enable water reuse by dividing nitrates and salinity and obtaining an effluent rich in nutrients, which will be reused for irrigation instead of being discharged to the environment. Dissolved salts, already separated from the reclaimed water stream, will be concentrated and then transformed to sodium hypochlorite, promoting a cost-effective solution to transform concentrated saline effluents into valuable by-products.

Main outputs and achievements

Reduction of over 11% of the total water footprint

of Murcia city urban irrigation system through the use of 201.480 m³/year of reclaimed water in substitution of potable and ground water.

Reduction of over 15% of total energy consumption

in Murcia city urban irrigation system.

Reduction of up to 30% of the total NaOCl consumption

thanks to on-site brine valorization (production of 29 tn NaOCl/year) at EMUASA’s facilities (16 WWTPs).

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Meet the team

Cetaqua Andalucía

Cetaqua is a model of public-private collaboration that was created to ensure the sustainability and efficiency of the water cycle while taking regional needs into account.

Aquambiente (ACES)

Aquambiente (ACES), part of Agbar (Veolia group), specialises in decarbonisation and circular economy projects with waste at their core. The company is involved in various activities such as innovation projects, market studies focused on waste, specialised consultancy, characterisation of waste and by-products, as well as the promotion of synergies with external entities such as technology centres, industrial players, administrations, etc.

Aguas de Murcia

Aguas de Murcia (EMUASA) is a joint venture service company, 51% owned by the City of Murcia and 49% owned by HIDROGEA, that manages the water cycle in the municipality of Murcia, serving nearly 445,086 people divided between the urban centre, the surrounding countryside and 54 villages.

Visit the virtual tour of the LIFE Conquer project site

Discover the LIFE Conquer project site and the role of each partner thanks to this virtual tour.

Recent news

EMUASA presents LIFE Conquer at the DDBP 2024