ACCIONA to manage Bilbao’s water sanitation network in Spain

The company will introduce geographic information systems (GIS) and implement its own GOTA CIA platform

The Bilbao City Council has awarded ACCIONA the contract for the management, cleaning, maintenance and operation of the city’s municipal water sanitation and sewerage network. The extendable three-year contract is worth €35 million and will benefit 350,000 residents.

The contract covers customer support work, cleaning and inspection of the pipe network, sewage management, maintenance of pumping systems and technical support, among other things, as well as various emergency works and repairs. For this, the company will use state-of-the-art equipment and zero-emission vehicles.

In line with its goal of digitalizing the entire water cycle, the company will introduce various 4.0 technologies such as the use of a ‘digital twin’, consisting of a virtual replica of the sewerage network, which will allow it to test and analyze the different innovations to be implemented efficiently and safely. Likewise, through event analysis with predictive algorithms, it will be possible to draw up action plans that will enable a better management of water resources.

Among other advances, the company will introduce geographic information systems (GIS) and implement its own GOTA CIA platform, integrated into municipal warning systems, which will help locate network assets and available technical resources on a map, thus ensuring a much more efficient operation and maintenance service.

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The company is currently responsible for operating and maintaining the primary water supply network for the Bilbao Bizkaia Water Consortium (CABB). It also operates 25 wastewater and drinking water treatment plants, including the Arriandi, Lekeitio, Ondarroa, Cruces, Balmaseda, Orduña and Muskiz plants.

In 2023, ACCIONA renewed the operation and maintenance contract for the sewerage system of the Amorebieta-Etxano municipality, which it has been managing in various stages since 2007. Recently, the Barakaldo City Council also entrusted ACCIONA with the management, maintenance and operation of its water supply network.

Internationally, ACCIONA manages the entire water cycle in more than 100 municipalities, providing its services to 17 million people. It has built 335 wastewater treatment plants (WWTP), with the capacity to serve 100 million people, and 128 drinking water treatment plants (DWTP), which serve 41 million people. It specializes in reverse osmosis technology to desalinate water in response to the challenge of water scarcity. ACCIONA uses innovative technologies to design sustainable solutions for water reuse in agriculture, urban parks and other activities.