World Water Day commemorates a scarce resource
21 Mar, 2024
Since 1993, World Water Day has been celebrated to highlight the importance of freshwater in our planet and the urgency of addressing its shortage globally.
Water is a scarce resource. In Spain, long periods of drought have been experienced recently, which have significantly affected water availability. It is predicted that 2024 could be one of the driest years on record.
HCC is committed with water preservation, dedicating 30 years to making every drop count through four key measures:
■ Execution of works to seal leaks in hydraulic works (dams, pressure pipes, load chambers, canals, etc.). The main goal of most works is to improve the safety levels of the infrastructure but, furthermore, this action allows customers to take advantage of a valuable resource: water that would otherwise be lost. Depending on usage of each reservoir, this water is used for water supply, hydroelectric power generation, irrigation, etc.
■ After three decades in the market, thanks to our works, we have achieved annual water savings of 33.3 hm3, equivalent to 100% of capacity of Tanes reservoir (Asturias). The estimated savings in the last few years amount to 498.8 hm3, which is similar to the water supply in the city of Barcelona for five years (taking as a reference the year 2022 consumption of 91.50 hm3) or to the city of Madrid for two years (according to 2022 consumption of 198.54 hm3).
■ We have developed a patented methodology for high-pressure injection of elevated viscosity resins that allows the injection and sealing of leaks without the need to limit the operating conditions of the reservoir, basically without the need to empty the reservoir. Bearing in mind that we have worked on some of the largest reservoir all over the world, such as Piedra del Águila (Argentina) with 12,600 hm3, karun 4 (Iran) with 2,200 hm2 or Mequinenza (Zaragoza) with 1,530 hm3, water savings are quite impressive.
■ The R+D+i department has spent several years working in depth on the management of sediments in reservoirs, developing new techniques to recover the fluvial dynamics of rivers while respecting the ecosystems present in the area. In this way, we are trying to tackle the loss of territory due to the sea, preserving the coastline and respecting the natural riverbeds. In addition, the right conservation of infrastructures is sought, always keeping security in the face of possible natural events.
■ Drill water reuse is a new process that we are implementing on our sites. HCC performs rotary core drilling with a diamond core bit and coring to obtain accurate borehole data. This method requires wet conditions, using hand pumping equipment to cool the core bits with adequate flow and pressure. HCC manages the drilling wastewater to tanks or settling ponds, where the cuttings settle out. Once purified, the aim is for the water to be pumped back to the worksite. We hope to be able to apply this water reuse system on all our sites within a short period of time.
In order to further improve and contribute to water savings, HCC will implement conservation measures at its headquarters to reduce annual water consumption. The entire HCC team strives for a more sustainable and environmentally friendly future.