Thanks to the excellent results, five more plants are expected in the commune of Rio Hurtado.
Japanese experts, the developers of the technology, supervised the work being carried out at the plant and expressed their enthusiasm as the treated water is reused for irrigation, allowing for a greener landscape in the area.
After more than a year of operation, the water treatment plant located in the Vado de Morillo section in the municipality of Rio Hurtado has recorded excellent results, as 100% of the treated water is reused in green areas and neighboring orchards. And with it comes a record low operating cost, no more than $4,500 per month for Neighbors.
To reach this point, researchers Catholic University of the North (UCN) Adapted from a Japanese technology known as the Intelligent Basin, it was used to treat wastewater from households in rural areas, thus contributing to water reuse and reducing pollutant emissions into the environment.
The technology is economical, easy to operate, low energy consumption supported by the use of photovoltaic energy and due to its good results, it is planned as a solution for wastewater reuse, especially in rural areas.
supervision
The operation of the plant is continuously monitored, and a few days ago the Japanese experts who developed the technology, Satoru Taguchi and Uki Nagahisa, visited the plant to examine the installation, operation and results obtained.
After the visit, Saturo Toguchi said that he was very happy because the plant is working very well with the maintenance they always do. In addition, he expressed his passion because treated water is reused for irrigation, allowing for a greener landscape.
Meanwhile, Joel Barraza Soto, academician of UCN’s Department of Aquaculture and researcher in charge of the project, said, “The plant is working as planned, 100% of the wastewater is recovered from the Vado de Morillo field, and 100% of the treated water is returned to irrigate the green areas of the community.
In addition, the researcher highlights that the plant is operated by a local neighbor, which shows that it is a simple system.
the future
For Joel Barraza, this plant is an example of water resource management, that is, work is being done to purify water and reuse water resources, which are very scarce and increasingly valuable, and he emphasized that they are very humble people, remote urban people. Regions are the most affected by the lack of this vital element, so “we’re repaying them for their effort by having this technology and trusting them to reuse this valuable resource,” he said.
After the excellent results of the refinery, Carmen Juana Olivares, mayor of Rio Hurtado commune, highlighted how important it is for the commune to have this plant, the first region in the country to have Japanese technology. Settlement for Commune Residents.
For this reason, he announced that there is a project funded and approved by the Municipal Council of Rio Hurtado to continue the creation of plants with this technology in the commune, “We hope to have at least 5 more and be able to provide a more comprehensive solution for households in sewage management and reuse of water for irrigation. Due to water scarcity, it is much needed to get this comprehensive solution,” said the mayor.
After the visit of the Japanese experts, the supervision carried out by the mayor “highlights that we are working well and that the plant is well established and, of course, gives us more security to continue moving forward in this direction. I have given in the municipality of Rio Hurtado that the new plants must be with Japanese technology.
It should be noted that, in another work, UCN researchers are working on establishing this technology in the aquaculture sector, through the project “Reduction of Aquaculture Sludge from Scaling Up a New Technology Based on Refinement of RILes”. It is funded by Fondef IT20I0095, National Institute for Research and Development (ANID).
