• Iván Cacheiro, European projects and funds manager at Augas de Galicia, spoke today on the opening day of the event, in the block entitled "Advances in digitalization in Autonomous Regions and Spanish Public Companies", presenting the Innovaugas 4.0 project, on behalf of the Xunta de Galicia.
• The intervention focused on the advances in digitalisation in Galicia and how they will contribute to improving the management of water resources and the environment, increasing resilience to climate change and incorporating the circular economy model into the management of the integral water cycle.
• Innovaugas 4.0 is a semi-finalist in the European Commission's European Innovation Procurement Awards 2022, and won the award for the best public initiative in the water sector at the Water Europe Innovation 2022 awards.
• The prestigious event, organised by iAgua, is configured in four online days and will end on Friday 23rd with a face-to-face session at the Botín Foundation headquarters in Madrid.

The Innovaugas 4.0 project, Advanced management of Galician water resources, promoted by Augas de Galicia, was invited to participate in the "Smart Water Summit 2022" event, organised by iAgua, which is being held from 19 to 23 September in online mode, with a final day in person this Friday in Madrid.

The Xunta de Galicia presented to an audience specialised in the water and innovation sector the digitalisation projects that are being carried out, the forecasts for future investments in the short and medium term, and gave as an example of these actions the Innovaugas 4.0 project, the first experience of innovative public procurement being developed by the entity.

During his presentation, Iván Cacheiro, European project and fund manager, explained how Innovaugas 4.0 seeks to respond to three challenges for the water sector in Galicia through innovation and technological solutions that do not exist in purchasing. The project, which concludes in June next year, awarded three services in which new enabling technologies for the digitisation, processing and advanced management of data from numerous sources, energy efficiency, improvement of water quality and prediction of events will be the protagonists for a total of 6.3 million euros.

Digitisation through public-private partnerships

Within the framework of Innovaugas, 4.0, the Regional Ministry of Infrastructures and Mobility also signed agreements with the three Galician universities that will involve an investment of around 494,000 euros by the Xunta, through Augas de Galicia, and will be valid until 31 May 2023, to further the challenges proposed in the project.

The Xunta-Universidade de Vigo agreement is part of Challenge 1 Integrated hydrological information system for advanced management of water resources of the Innovaugas 4.0 project, of Augas de Galicia, and completes the service for the development of an integrated technology for the collection, processing and interpretation of data to aggregate and exploit all existing information on the basins, awarded by the Xunta for 2.3 million euros, and which will enable Augas de Galicia to make better decisions.   

For its part, the Xunta-Universidade da Coruña agreement will contribute to the development of the Merlin flood early warning system, which is already being implemented by the Xunta in all areas with significant potential flood risk in Galicia, and completes the service awarded by the Xunta for 2.5 million euros to incorporate the latest generation digital technologies into an advanced system that integrates the main variables related to flood and drought preparedness and response and to the monitoring and management of reservoirs in other available resources.

The Xunta-University of Santiago de Compostela agreement, within Challenge 3 Circular Economy of the integral water cycle of Innovaugas 4.0, will allow the creation of a working group formed by staff from Augas de Galicia and the USC that will address the potential for energy production in WWTPs, the definition of circularity indicators in the management of wastewater treatment plants and will work on achieving a favourable social perception for the use of recycled water and resources recovered from wastewater. This agreement complements the system to optimise energy consumption and guarantee the quality of the water discharged at the WWTPs, which Augas de Galicia awarded in March for 1.5 million euros. 

INNOVAUGAS 4.0

Innovaugas 4.0 is a project promoted by the Public Business Entity Augas de Galicia, dependent on the Department of Infrastructures and Mobility of the Xunta de Galicia, which seeks to achieve new solutions for advanced integrated water management, optimise water resources and provide a long-term response to the demands of the different uses of water, in balance with the natural environment and river ecosystems, respecting the achievement of the environmental objectives established for bodies of water and taking into account the new scenarios determined by climate change.

The Innovaugas 4.0 project has an elixible budget of 7 million euros and is 80% co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Plurirexional Operational Programme of Spain (POPE) 2014-2020.

Innovaugas 4.0 was selected by the Ministry of Science and Innovation in 2020 in the Line of Promotion of Innovation from the Demand and Innovative Public Procurement, has an aid of European funds of 4,200,000 euros, will also be co-financed by the Galician Innovation Agency (GAIN) with 700,000 euros and Augas de Galicia will bring 2,100,000 euros.