The largest recycled water production plant in Latin America celebrates 10 years at an event with authorities and professionals from the sector.
The largest enterprise for the production of recycled water for industrial use in Latin America and the fifth largest on the planet, Aquapolo Ambiental, the result of the association between GS Inima Industrial and Buscasp, celebrated 10 years of activity. The event was attended by the main personalities of environmental sanitation, including Pedro Maranhão, National Secretary of Sanitation of the Ministry of Regional Development, Marta Verde, CEO of GS Inima, Paulo Roberto Oliveira, CEO of GS Inima Brazil, Benedito Braga, president of Sabesp, as well as representatives of environmental entities, ABC municipal authorities, industry partner clients and Aquapolo employees.
At the inauguration of the act, the National Secretary of Sanitation pointed out that the reuse of water is seen today as an innovative solution to deal with water scarcity. “Then imagine the value of Aquapolo, which has been recycling water for 10 years to supply the industry”, analyzed Pedro Maranhão. “This plant should have a multiplier effect so that many other projects like this are launched in the country.”
Marta Verde, General Director of GS Inima, affirmed that the group will continue to invest and support the development of Brazil:
“Aquapolo is an example of what we can do in the country and a world reference in the production of reused water.”
Paulo Roberto Oliveira, CEO of GS Inima Brazil recalled that Aquapolo is a project with a high social and environmental impact, which has just completed the production of 100 million m3 of recycled water for the industry: “This volume would be enough to supply a city of up to 50 inhabitants for 45 years. Brazil today has almost 4.900 cities of this size”.
The president of Aquapolo, Márcio da Silva José, stated that the purpose of the company is to “transform and inspire society by recycling water to perpetuate life”. And he announced the objective of neutralizing 62% of carbon emissions by 2025 and reaching carbon zero in 2030. “Our commitment is to reduce the water footprint for direct use to zero by 2025, that is, to use only freshwater.” reuse in the operation and no longer of springs”, reported Márcio José.
The plant has the capacity to supply up to 1000 liters/second of recycled water to the Petrochemical Pole of the ABC Paulista Region, from the treatment of domestic wastewater from Sabesp’s ABC Wastewater Treatment Station, the equivalent of supplying a city of 500 thousand inhabitants.
Aquapolo Ambiental began operating in November 2012, contributing to the region’s socioeconomic development and sustainability, since the water used by industries is no longer extracted from springs that are used for human consumption.
This saving of drinking water in the industry plays an important role from the point of view of water security, in addition Aquapolo points to viable solutions for the best use of water resources within the concept of circular economy, contributing to five of the Objectives of Sustainable Development (SDG) of the UN.
This year, Aquapolo Ambiental has been recognized as a Climate Smart Water Utility company by the International Water Association (IWA), an institution that has members in 140 countries and is an international benchmark for the water and sanitation sector. The award recognized 42 companies from 30 countries and considered Aquapolo Ambiental one of the 13 most inspiring companies of the year.