The municipality led by Juan Pablo Vassia undertook a project to recover sewage tributaries through a biofilter. Together with the Argentine Environment Foundation, the Catholic University of Córdoba and Punto Lombriz, and specialized technicians, Idiazábal set out to respond to the water shortage and is the first municipality in the country to implement this innovative technique.
It is a water recapture system that works through a vermifilter. In receptacles full of worms, with a selective permeability system, effluents with organic matter are pumped that function as food. The permeability system causes many bacteria to be retained and thus allows water to flow that is not suitable for human consumption, but can be used by other means.
Mayor Juan Pablo Vassia expanded on the motivations for the project, which has as its framework a comprehensive development perspective throughout the municipality of Córdoba.
“Since the management that began in 2019, we began to look at sustainable development as a direction to follow. We found that the alliances and integration with the RAMCC, with the Universities, with the Argentine Environment Foundation, were opening up new universes for us,” said Vassia.
In 2015, 80% of the town was under water for 17 days. Since then, the local government began to build a 6,000-meter sewer network. “We have 90% of sewage networks throughout the town. From this massive branching of the network we began to see the opportunity to recover water for irrigation, because water is a scarce resource, especially in January,” said the president.
From this, and with the collaboration of specialists, they did a small-scale trial that yielded very good results.
Vassia explained that the project is in the experimental stage. “In March, when we can conclude all the analyzes together with the UCA of Córdoba, we will communicate it massively and we propose to carry out the test on the use of that water in other areas such as irrigation of dirt streets, crops or pastures, always observing the current legislation”.
The mayor highlighted that the project mobilized all the municipality’s staff, who were committed to the construction and maintenance in this first stage. “There are similar experiences in the industry, but it is the first time that a municipality implements this strategy at the country level,” he highlighted.
Source: RED ARGENTINA DE MUNICIPIOS FRENTE AL CAMBIO CLIMÁTICO