The company in charge of the drinking water supply and sewage service in Cross portLast year, Aqualia detected and repaired a total of 262 leaks in the municipal network, which raised its performance to over 80%, “two points more than in 2020”, according to the company’s service manager Federico Mendoza in the act of presentation of the annual report, this Tuesday, October 18, 2022 in the Porto City Hall. This improvement in performance, well above other northern towns that lose more than half of the water that enters their networks, allows the municipality to save more than 100,000 cubic meters of drinking water each year, the equivalent of 100 million liters of water. An amount that also improves “thanks to the effort made by the Porto city council to reduce its consumption in facilities and gardens,” according to Mendoza.
The event was attended by the mayor, Mark Gonzalez; the Councilor for Community Welfare, Flora Pereraand the production manager of Aqualia, Braulio Dominguez. For the mayor, this company sets an example of transparency with this report “where all the work behind this service is clear, which is now provided through a continuity agreement.” González highlighted that Aqualia is “a company with a social and cultural commitment, involved with the city and one of those that is best meeting the demands of citizens through the Green Line municipal application.” And he added the work behind a service that in Cross port has 92 large water consumerssuch as hotels, which account for 40% of annual turnover.
The tourist city saves more than 100,000 cubic meters of water per year thanks to the improvement of the network and the detection of leaks by Aqualia
Braulio Dominguez assured that this document includes the day to day in the supply of drinking water, sewerage and the channeling of rainwater, “a job that is often not seen.” And he stressed that Aqualia, which is recognized with the Family Responsible Company (EFR) seal with its workers, carried out 3,148 analyzes of water quality in 2021, «with the study of 10,340 parameters, which is a guarantee for citizens». His virtual office is also “open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.”
Federico Mendoza He recalled that the network department is in charge of maintaining the entire channeling and deposit system for water for human consumption, rainwater and wastewater. In 2021, actions in the supply network have focused on detecting faults, studying pressures and preventive management to search for leaks and fraud. All these problems are located on maps that, later, serve to determine where it is a priority to intervene.
The sewage system has 48 kilometers of pipes and a total of 6 pumping stations in the city
Regarding the sewage network, they highlighted the work in cleaning and repairing part of the 48 kilometers of sanitation networks and the six pumping stations, essential for wastewater management. In alerts for rains, special interventions are also carried out to prevent flooding and guarantee that “the entire system works correctly,” Mendoza stressed. In 2021 alone, 546 scuppers and some 3.2 kilometers of rainwater channels were cleaned.
Mark Gonzalez He also wanted to highlight the progress that has been made in the city in improving the service “in daily and joint work between both entities with the sole objective of developing management that is as satisfactory as possible for citizens in an essential task for both small consumers as well as for large water users, such as hotels”. Flora Perera valued “the high degree of commitment of the company’s staff so that this service is not only provided in the best conditions, but also quickly resolving the incidents that occur during the year”.
“Always available and always collaborating”
The mayor Flora Perera highlighted the work of all the Aqualia staff and their commitment to the tourist city. “They are always available to deal with any incident at the time it occurs and, in addition, they are always willing to collaborate on educational, cultural, festive and social issues, showing a great commitment to this city,” said the councilor from Porto.
