The Catalan Water Agency has made public the project to build a regenerated water plant at the Reus treatment plant, an infrastructure budgeted at 20.9 million euros that is expected to become operational in 2028. The facility will allow for the supply of water resources to Camp de Tarragona in a context of drought that has particularly affected irrigation.
The plan starts from a paradox that has weighed on the area for months. The treatment plant already treats 17,000 cubic meters per day, but after deducting the real consumption of the Comunitat de Regants del Molinet, there is a free volume of five cubic hectometers per year for regeneration, an amount almost equivalent to the capacity of the Riudecanyes reservoir.
The plant will increase production from 17,000 to 20,000 cubic meters per day
The new facility will be built in the composting area of the Reus treatment plant. With it, the production capacity of regenerated water will increase from 17,000 to 20,000 cubic meters per day, with the possibility of growing up to 25,000.
Today, the treatment plant treats a volume of 6.2 cubic hectometers annually. Of that amount, there are concessions of 1.5 cubic hectometers per year for the Comunitat de Regants del Molinet and 0.2 for the Aigüesverds Golf Course.
The planned treatment will combine coagulation, filtration with textile disc filters, and ultraviolet disinfection. In addition, the project incorporates 1,408 photovoltaic panels of 550 peak watts to cover part of the plant's energy consumption.
The pipeline will run for 12.5 kilometers to the Riudecanyes ponds
The project includes a 12.5-kilometer pipeline that will carry the regenerated water to the storage ponds of the Comunitat de Regants del Pantà de Riudecanyes. The route will skirt the south of the Aigüesverds golf course and the municipality of Riudoms before reaching Botarell.
The management of this pipeline and the ponds corresponds to the Department of Agriculture. This department is still processing the environmental impact reports linked to the infrastructure.
The work responds to a demand made by farmers in Camp de Tarragona due to water shortages. It is also part of the Hazelnut Plan 2026-2028 approved by the Government to support a crop that is particularly widespread in this area.
Irrigators, Unió Nuts, and IRTA test regenerated water on hazelnut trees
In parallel to the processing of the plant, the Comunitat de Regants del Pantà de Riudecanyes, Unió Nuts SCCL, and IRTA are developing a pilot project to validate the use of regenerated water in hazelnut cultivation. The test seeks to clear up doubts about its agricultural application.
The point that focuses this validation is the conductivity of the water, an index that concerns the sector due to its effect on crops. The project must verify if the resource can be used with guarantees in a key operation for a large part of the Camp de Tarragona.
The official forecast places the start-up of the Reus treatment plant's regenerated water plant in 2028, with an investment of 20.9 million euros.