The earthquakes in 2007 and 2012 aggravated the problem as they caused deterioration in the existing networks thus leading to pipeline breaks and subsequent water leakages in the supply networks, loss of service and lack of efficiency of the networks.
Another serious problem is the contamination of surface water resources derived from untreated wastewater and this together with the lack of water quality monitoring network for surface and groundwater worsens significantly the sicknesses stemming from water contamination and inadequate sanitation.
In order to respond to this situation the Republic of Guatemala has started a PROGRAM FOR WATER SUPPLY AND SANITATION FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT (PHASE I) developed by an agreement signed by INFOM-BID-AECID and financed by the Inter-American Development Bank, in agreement with the Government of Spain through the Cooperation Fund for Water and Sanitation in Latin America and the Caribbean (FCAS) with a budget of 50 million USD to execute partially the phase I of the program.
This phase included the "Pre-investment Studies of Drinking Water and Sanitary Sewage system of urban areas in six (6) departments in the Republic of Guatemala in six municipalities of San Marcos" carried out by INCLAM in Joint Venture with Novotecni
The primary objective of INCLAM was to create a strategy, plans and final design of the projects which will enable the municipalities to repair, refurbish and extend the water systems and sewers quickly and in technically advanced manner without interrupting the services and causing minimal inconveniences to the users in the urban and peri-urban areas of the prioritized municipalities. Simultaneously, measures for improving the operational and administrative effectiveness were planned.
The work included 12 feasibility studies, six definitive water designs and six sanitations and sanitary sewers. This project benefits a variety of users, inhabitants of the six already mentioned districts. There are more than 135 000 inhabitants. It is a basic service with major significance for improving the quality of life of the population.
The methodology used comprised of a technical analysis of drinking water, sewer system, sanitation and the current and future demands, evaluation of the current systems and planning of solutions which will enable to improve the coverage of the service, continuity, and quality.
In order to analyze the sewer system networks, weaknesses and shortcomings in operation were identified and hydraulic simulation models using IT tool SWMM were developed. Based on the detected problem a set of improvements was planned, and they were included in the simulation models in order to verify using the models whether the operation of the proposed solution was correct. Once the process was finalized, a sanitary supply network providing adequate design to face the future wastewater demands and the precipitation effects for 30 years return period was defined.
As a part of improving the sewer system network, INCLAM included a design of a wastewater treatment plant complying the current norms related to surface water bodies discharge thus contributing to the environmental quality improvement. The relevant economic, financial and socioeconomic evaluations were made. The result of the socioeconomic evaluation allows guaranteeing that the projects are sustainable for the municipalities with the proposed rated combined for water and sewerage.
These studies bring Inclam Group closer to the country and strengthen its role as a benchmark company in water engineering sector not only in Guatemala but throughout the Latin American region.
En esta final, los competidores directos serán los candidatos de la bolsa irlandesa (Irish Stock Exchange) y la bolsa de Londres (London Stock Exchange). En la página web de los premios se expone la lista corta con el perfil de los candidatos, para la categoría principal, en la que compite INCLAM, y el resto de categorías que premian estos galardones.
Estos Premios son una muestra de la diversidad de los mercados europeos y su objetivo es promover la entrada en el mercado de valores, en particular, el dirigido a las PYME y empresas de crecimiento. Los finalistas y ganadores se destacan como actores
excepcionales que demuestran innovación, tanto la expansión nacional e internacional, ciudadanía corporativa y una excelente gestión. Estas empresas son fundamentales para la recuperación económica europea y para lograr las metas de la creación de empleo,
competitividad y el crecimiento de la UE .
Los ganadores de estos galardones se anunciarán en una ceremonia que tendrá lugar el próximo 17 de noviembre en el Albert Hall en Bruselas.
Which are the main lines of activity of Stadtwerke Karlsruhe?
The Stadtwerke Karlsruhe GmbH is the traditional local supplier of energy (electricity, natural gas, long-distance district heat) and drinking water of the city of Karlsruhe. The actual development is to not only offer the basic product but also related services, for example heating and cooling of buildings.
What are the major challenges in the water sector for SWKA?
I see currently three major challenges for the water sector in Karlsruhe. First we notice on the one hand a significant decline of the average drinking water consumption per head since the mid 80s. On the other hand detailed climate change modelling for the Karlsruhe area shows agreat increase of the difference between the water demand of average days and the water demand of hot summer days as a result of the ongoing climate change. So we have to increase the capacity of the treatment while the average consumption declines. The challenge is to keep water prices stable in a difficult economical situation in multiutility companies.
The second challenge is the increasing awareness of trace substances in the water. With continuous improvements in water analytics we are able to find more and more fingerprints eg. ofdegradation products of herbicides, pesticides and pharmaceutical products also in well protected water resources. The problem is not the concern about resulting health issues, the concentrations are by far too small for that. The challenge is the communication with the consumers. The water used in the drinking water sector should be “pure and free of every contaminant” from a consumers perspective. Today due to scientific results in the assessment of contaminants we have better knowledge on values on health. The challenge is to inform our customers of the analytic results and encouraging their trust in the quality of drinking water.
The third major challenge is the actual development in the political framework. Water suppliers in Germany are usually owned by local municipalities. Water supply is considered as a public duty that should be done by public companies, preferably on a local level to deliver this service close to the citizens and consumers. Due to economic reasons and restrictions when mixing water of different qualities, water supply of one area is a monopoly and there should be no liberalization like in the field of electricity and gas. Nevertheless there are individual interests trying to turn the public water sector into a market, provide access to that market for private companies and install rules for competition. This pressure exists within Germany and increases on a European level. In the EU context we now need to have a close eye on the free trade agreements and its influence on the drinking water sector that the EU is currently planning, like the CETA agreement with Canada, the TTIP agreement with the US and the TiSA agreement with 22 other countries.
SWKA have done their own assessment of CETA, TTIP and TiSA regarding water. What are the main results?
First of all there are exceptions for water supply in these agreements to protect public water supply but these exceptions are not legally safe and contain various loopholes. We are especially worried about the investment protection in CETA and TTIP as it grants special rights to foreign companies which we do not have. This could result in severe disadvantages for us, for example when competing for water resources or trying to design a water protection area. It is our firm conviction that water supply as well as water resources have to be excluded from investment protection. Additionally we regard the European precautionary principle as crucial for protection of water resources. But the guaranties for the precautionary principle in CETA are considered by the water sector to be too weak.
Water Quality in Karlsruhe network is recognized and valued by several specialized magazinesas excellent. How do you achieve this challenge?
In Karlsruhe we exclusively use ground water for the production of drinking water. The basis and fundamentals of the drinking water quality management in Karlsruhe is the preventive protection of the ground water resource. The first step was to position our water works in a way to minimize the risks of ground water pollution in its catchment area. Then we installed well head protection areas for all out water works. We are involved in all major projects in the protection areas and thereby can advise actions to minimize resulting risks. The latest development is to install a risk management for our ground water resource.
Recently there has been a lot of talk about Water-Energy Nexus in the water sector in Germany. In your opinion, which are the main barriers and key issues to achieve the integration between thesetwo vectors?
The need to increase energy efficiency is usually driven by increasing energy costs and by enterprise policies to reduce the carbon dioxide footprint. When thinking about measures in this regard it is important to always keep in mind that the uninterrupted water supply and the highest possible water quality are not to be put at risk and that all measures have to be economically sensible.
The potential of energy savings in water supplyis very high, what arewater utilities doing in this respect?
The largest potential in water supply is generally probably to change old pumps and old power transformers. Exchanging them often charges off within very few years. Then there is the field of lighting and air conditioning that has to be examined. Alsothe operation schedule of the pumps can often be optimized to save energy or alternatively to preferentially use cheaper energy.
SWKA participated as a Pilot Case in a European RDIproject with INCLAM for the research for efficiency solutions in water supply. How was your experience in this project?
Although the SWKA have participated in numerous RDI projects before, the European RDI project “WatERP” was the first RDI with that many (9) international partners. This heterogeneous partnership with solid backgrounds in ICT and water technologies, allowed to develop a very promising prototype highly focused on water-energy nexus for water supply distribution networks.
“WatERP” was the starting point for us to think about innovative strategies to optimize our daily management and operation of water supply. INCLAM’s follow-up project that has its focus on the development aspect hasimproved the prototype of the research project substantially and made it easy to apply in our everyday work routine.
In order to improve the operation of the water networks and save energy, SWKA has installed WatEner. What is your experience so far?
Currently, WatEner is installed in our network and helped us analyze past operational scenarios and find new reliable operation strategies improving efficiency in terms of economic cost, water and energy usage and greenhouse gases production. This is the first step to generate knowledge for machine learning processes in order to fully implement WatEner in our daily operation.
Furthermore, WatEner is a very powerful tool to make easy real time access to the relevant data in daily operation such as water production, energy consumption, economic costs or storage volumes. Also, the platform allows to quickly generate a hydraulic model run of our water supply network.
Finally, and verymeaningful, WatEner consolidates the initial promise of saving 5 to 7% of energy for the network pumps of our water works by optimizing the pumping schedule.
En esta final, los competidores directos serán los candidatos de la bolsa irlandesa (Irish Stock Exchange) y la bolsa de Londres (London Stock Exchange). En la página web de los premios se expone la lista corta con el perfil de los candidatos, para la categoría principal, en la que compite INCLAM, y el resto de categorías que premian estos galardones.
Estos Premios son una muestra de la diversidad de los mercados europeos y su objetivo es promover la entrada en el mercado de valores, en particular, el dirigido a las PYME y empresas de crecimiento. Los finalistas y ganadores se destacan como actores excepcionales que demuestran innovación, tanto la expansión nacional e internacional, ciudadanía corporativa y una excelente gestión. Estas empresas son fundamentales para la recuperación económica europea y para lograr las metas de la creación de empleo, competitividad y el crecimiento de la UE .
Los ganadores de estos galardones se anunciarán en una ceremonia que tendrá lugar el próximo 17 de noviembre en el Albert Hall en Bruselas.
The innovation, internationalization, sustainability, future, work-life balance and inspiration were the business values that last night had their well-deserved recognition during a very special event at the Royal Theater of Madrid.
Javier Gómez Noya, a triathlete and a world champion handed the award "SOMOS SOSTENIBLES" (WE ARE SUSTAINABLE) to Alfonso Andrés, who represented INCLAM GROUP´s human resources. The group was recognized for its work and efforts for sustainability, which is a value written into the DNA of the company.
The finalists of the six categories gathered last night on 29th of November in an event, where the names of the awarded companies were announced. The event was presented by Macarena Berlín and Inma Shara lead the orchestra which contributed to the special atmosphere of the evening. Well-known faces in the business, political or media world, supported these awards, which according to the words of the Director of Banco Popular, Álvaro Ron, recognize the hard times, the capacity to inspire, create value and face the technological challenges, create opportunities in the Spanish SMEs.
Photography published in the El País
Antonio Caño, the director of the El País, Myriam Pintado and Javier Lapeña, the founders of Dolores Promesas, Javier Gómez Noya, triathlete and world champion, José Luis López de Ayala, General Director of Twitter Spain, Ana Bujaldón, the President of the Spanish Federation of Female Managers, Executives, Professionals and Entrepreneurs, and Ángel Rón, the president of Banco Popular who handed the awards to Iden Biotechnology, Aceitunas Torrent, Inclam, Play Hawkers, Medipack, Oryzon Genomics and Animosa: alma y coraje. INCLAM wants to congratulate all the finalists, and specifically the winners with whom we had the honor to share a successful night.
En esta final, los competidores directos serán los candidatos de la bolsa irlandesa (Irish Stock Exchange) y la bolsa de Londres (London Stock Exchange). En la página web de los premios se expone la lista corta con el perfil de los candidatos, para la categoría principal, en la que compite INCLAM, y el resto de categorías que premian estos galardones.
Estos Premios son una muestra de la diversidad de los mercados europeos y su objetivo es promover la entrada en el mercado de valores, en particular, el dirigido a las PYME y empresas de crecimiento. Los finalistas y ganadores se destacan como actores
excepcionales que demuestran innovación, tanto la expansión nacional e internacional, ciudadanía corporativa y una excelente gestión. Estas empresas son fundamentales para la recuperación económica europea y para lograr las metas de la creación de empleo,
competitividad y el crecimiento de la UE .
Los ganadores de estos galardones se anunciarán en una ceremonia que tendrá lugar el próximo 17 de noviembre en el Albert Hall en Bruselas.
Alfonso Andrés, CEO of Inclam, received on 17th of November the "Internationalization Award" of the Spanish Exporters and Investors Club. The awards recognize the work of the Spanish companies in international activities, and it has been given already 14 times; Inclam was awarded for its outstanding international projection.
The Award Ceremony was held on 17th of November in Hotel Palace de Madrid and presented by the Spanish Secretary of State for Trade. Jaime García-Legaz.
The Spanish Exporters and Investors Club recognizes by this award the efforts and work of the Spanish Companies in the international spheres and the support received from the public and private institutes, who all contribute to the internationalization of the Spanish companies.
The Inclam Group was acknowledged as a Spanish SME with outstanding international projection. In the last ten years, the Company has expanded its international business, and currently it has a stable presence in foreign markets. 95 % of the turnover of the Company is originated from its activities outside Spanish borders.
Freixenet, the biggest sparkling wine producer, won the category of a Large Spanish Corporation with outstanding international projection. The Inter-American Development Bank won the category of Institution with special importance to internalization of business.
En esta final, los competidores directos serán los candidatos de la bolsa irlandesa (Irish Stock Exchange) y la bolsa de Londres (London Stock Exchange). En la página web de los premios se expone la lista corta con el perfil de los candidatos, para la categoría principal, en la que compite INCLAM, y el resto de categorías que premian estos galardones.
Estos Premios son una muestra de la diversidad de los mercados europeos y su objetivo es promover la entrada en el mercado de valores, en particular, el dirigido a las PYME y empresas de crecimiento. Los finalistas y ganadores se destacan como actores
excepcionales que demuestran innovación, tanto la expansión nacional e internacional, ciudadanía corporativa y una excelente gestión. Estas empresas son fundamentales para la recuperación económica europea y para lograr las metas de la creación de empleo,
competitividad y el crecimiento de la UE .
Los ganadores de estos galardones se anunciarán en una ceremonia que tendrá lugar el próximo 17 de noviembre en el Albert Hall en Bruselas.
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INCLAM GRUPO Limonero, 22 28020 Madrid, SPAIN +34 915 749 107 inclam@inclam.com |
