Know our demo cases: Costa Brava

Pushed by touristic development, the Costa Brava (Girona, Spain) is one of the pioneering regions along the Spanish coast in terms of wastewater treatment. Since the 1950s, the ongoing touristic development has affected the water quality in swimming areas. Considering how this would affect tourism itself, there was a motivation to quickly implement wastewater treatment systems in the early 70s. 

Costa Brava is one of the first areas in the uptake of water reuse in Europe with 14 full-scale tertiary treatments that provide water for agricultural irrigation, environmental uses, non-potable urban uses and, recently, indirect potable reuse.

For NextGen, they are working at:

• Regenerating end-of-life RO membranes to obtain different molecular cut-offs to be used in the multipurpose fit-for-use reclamation system, which are being demonstrated through the operation of a pilot plant during 2 years in Tossa de Mar WRP.
• Producing fit-for-use water quality for sensitive uses to extend the use of reclaimed water in the area (e.g. indirect potable reuse through aquifer recharge and irrigation of private gardens).
• Integrated urban/regional water cycle optimisation including all the relevant actors