On Tuesday, 14 October, the Govern d’Andorra and the Universidade de Santiago de Compostela held an open participatory conference in the Aria Room of the Andorra la Vella Congress Centre (Andorra). This activity was one of five meetings organised by the I-ReWater consortium in the Interreg SUDOE region. The conference generated debate and provided more detailed information on the use of reclaimed water in the Principality of Andorra, a concept that began to gain visibility thanks to the research carried out by I-ReWater.
After the opening by Guillem Casals, Minister of the Environment, Agriculture and Livestock, the European I-ReWater project was presented by coordinator Javier J. Cancela (Campus Terra, USC), followed by presentations from two of the partner organisations. Isabel Martín García (AMAYA) addressed European water legislation and the Institute for Agrifood Research and Technology (IRTA) recounted its experience in fertigation with reclaimed water in the almond tree pilot project.
Subsequently, Josep Casals, Director of the Department of Agriculture, gave an update on the situation of the agricultural sector in the Principality. Joan Marc Ponsoda (Acciona Agua) presented technologies for water regeneration, and Irene Blanco (UPM) spoke about sustainability, the circular economy and social acceptance.
The round table, moderated by Javier J. Cancela (USC), brought together Marisa Luna Troya, technical engineer and coordinator of APRA, who addressed the potential of reclaimed water in agriculture; Olga Alves, head of Andorra’s WWTP services at Acciona Agua–Ecotècnic, who focused on quality and legislative safety; and Silvia Ferrer, director of the Department of Environment and Sustainability, who spoke about the social acceptance of this resource.
The conference concluded with presentations by Laura Coll (Head of the Environment and Sustainability Department) and Javier J. Cancela (Campus Terra, University of Santiago de Compostela).
