- The pilot project involves supplying reclaimed water for irrigating gardens and green areas
- Meliá Hotels joins the market for reclaimed water in the municipality
- Each litre of reclaimed water used saves one litre from the regular water supply
A new step in the efficient use of reclaimed water in Calvià. The Meliá hotel chain joins the growing number of customers using reclaimed water at its facilities. The chain and the Town Hall signed an agreement this Monday whereby the public company Calvià 2000 will supply reclaimed water to the Hotel de Mar Gran Meliá, a luxury adults-only establishment in Illetes. It will be used for irrigating the complex's green areas and gardens and will result in a reduction in potable water consumption through substitution, a key measure for optimising the municipality's water resources.
The collaboration agreement establishes the foundations of the pilot project, which will become a consolidated alternative for responsible water use. Calvià has two municipal Water Regeneration Stations (ERA), located in the towns of Santa Ponça and Bendinat, with an interconnected distribution network. Therefore, although the end user's reclaimed water will originate from the Bendinat ERA, they may, depending on their needs, receive reclaimed water from the Santa Ponça ERA. Both stations meet the highest quality standards for urban use, U.A+ quality, required by the regulations for reclaimed water for urban uses.
The agreement was signed this Monday in the Town Hall's plenary hall. Mayor Juan Antonio Amengual expressed his gratitude for Meliá Hotels International's decision to join the initiative using reclaimed water: "It is very important to have Gabriel Escarrer here today because it demonstrates the importance of the agreement. We are protecting an essential resource through a public-private partnership that highlights our plan to expand the marketing of reclaimed water." "We need to give this water a second life."
Gabriel Escarrer Jaume, CEO and President of Meliá Hotels International, pointed out that the use of reclaimed water at the Hotel de Mar Gran Meliá can represent a 20 percent savings in water from the regular network, and therefore assured that "the mayor definitely has our commitment that many other Meliá hotels in the municipality will follow this path."
At the Hotel de Mar Gran Meliá, usage protocols have been established to prevent mixing the regular network supply with the reclaimed water. The new internal pipes, from the main supply to the points of use, will be marked in purple. There will be no physical connections between pipes of different types.
Calvià can process the water consumption of up to 118.000 inhabitants per day at its two wastewater treatment plants. The municipality's water reclaiming plants can provide up to 10 million litres per day during the months of highest demand and consumption.
