A first successful year at the Llobregat demo site
After one year in DESSIN the leader and coordinator of the Llobregat demo site, Marta Hernández from Cetaqua, summarizes the first twelve months of life of DESSIN at the Barcelona location.
How would you evaluate the first year of DESSIN at the Llobregat demo site?
The first year has been very active in the demonstration site. Regarding the preparative works, we have completed the observation network of piezometers, which will allow not only evaluating the impact of the pre-potable water in the system, but also gives us data of the natural behavior of the system in pumping conditions. Two observation wells have been installed, with a total thickness of 50 meters. During drilling works, sediments have been collected to obtain the complete geological profile at local scale, which has provided us with very valuable information.
Which goals has the Llobregat site team achieved?
We have strengthened the relations with the staff of Aigües de Barcelona, as we have involved the technical directors in the decision making processes from the very beginning of the year. Mr. Jordi Castelló is the current director of production of Aigües de Barcelona and he is enthusiastic with the project, which helps a lot regarding the implementation at demonstration scale in the drinking water treatment plant. In fact, the demonstration starting date has been advanced in time: injection with pre-potable water will start one year earlier than originally planned because of the great interest of Aigües de Barcelona in having results.
We have devoted 2014 to compile the existing information from the beginning of the ASR system, which was installed in the 70’s. Despite the fact that it was a very active system in the 90’s, (with a maximum volume injected of 15 Mm3/year in 1992), only few information was filed. We have studied the different water composition along the drinking water treatment line, from raw water of the Llobregat River to drinking water quality. We’ve started the relations with local stakeholders and had a first meeting in November. The Association of Groundwater Users, the Health Agency and the Water Agency participated to discuss the challenges of pre-potable water injected in the aquifer. We’ll start the participation of additional stakeholders involved in Ecosystem Services in 2015.
What else do you expect for 2015?
We hope to consolidate the preparative works in the drinking water treatment plant, which will consist in the connection of the effluent of sand filtration to the selected injection well, located in the facility. Moreover, we are going to monitor the pilot plant, consisting in a column experiment. The pilot will simulate the impact of water filtered in the case of the well and in the aquifer material. We are going to monitor especially the biofilm growth, as well as other potential evidences of clogging in the aquifer before starting the demonstration, using a real well.