This Friday, the celebration of the fourth and final Alicante Municipal Water Administration Board (AMAEM) corresponding to the year 2025. Coinciding with the closing of the 10th anniversary of Alicante’s Marjal Park, the governing body announced … highlights data from this pioneering infrastructure over the last twelve months, during which 6,300 m³ of water were collected during the three rainy episodes during which it came into service; Also, the total stored since its inauguration in 2015, which now stands at 64,650 m³, of water which is then transferred to the treatment plants and reused in the city for various uses, such as washing streets or irrigating green spaces.
With a retention capacity of 45,000 m³, it was inaugurated in March 2015 by the Town Hall and Aguas de Alicante (a mixed company owned 50% by the said Town Hall and 50% by the Veolia group), with the aim of preventing flooding in the San Juan beach area where it is located. It has worked on several occasions, notably in 2017 (with 15,500 m³ collected) and 2019 (with 22,000 m³), consolidating itself as a model of sustainable water management and citizen leisure space. Throughout 2025, this success of public-private collaboration was commemorated by events of different nature, both technical and institutional, and other recreational events open to all citizens and visitors.
Refrigerated water dispensers: 1 million plastic bottles avoided
Then, the success of the project for the gradual installation of chilled water dispensers in the municipalities managed by the company was highlighted, an initiative that has already achieved notable figures since its launch in July 2024, such as 1 million plastic bottles avoided, more than 465,000 liters of water distributed or more than 850,000 users.
With the objectives of facilitating the availability of tap water for citizens and tourists in public spaces with maximum attendance, providing social value by making the city more user-friendly or facilitating the consumption of tap water and reducing waste production, this project is already expanding to other cities beyond Alicante and is also entering its Phase IV with plans for new facilities in the city.
Innovate with impact
Regarding the innovation in which the company engages, the municipality has focused on the CLARA project (Control and Localization of Risks in Water), an initiative which was selected by IVACE+i for financing within the framework of the call for Strategic Innovation Projects. Its aim is to develop advanced technologies for the detection and treatment of pathogens (such as coliforms and legionella) in reused water and healthcare environments, seeking to guarantee the microbiological safety of water and generate early warnings. The technologies that will be developed in the project include innovative biosensors, advanced processing systems or predictive models based on artificial intelligence. With a total budget of €1,138,618.69. (Aguas de Alicante Budget: 260,351.79), will last: 3 years.
On the other hand, the SMART GREEN project will be an ambitious project launched by Alicante to significantly transform the way parks and gardens are watered in the city to move towards more intelligent and sustainable water management. It is part of the overall Business Digitalization Plan and the PERTE of “Digitalization of the Water Cycle”, which is financed by NextGenerationEU European funds channeled by the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan of the Spanish Government.
Regarding the aforementioned LOSS on water digitalization, a review of the current situation was also carried out, highlighting the fact that 100% of the related tenders have already been processed by Aguas de Alicante. With a total amount of €6,207,363.78, of which 84% of funding will be received (€5,238,128.63), it is co-financed by the company for the remainder of the unsubsidized actions of its annual Investment Plan.
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