DIGITALISATION
We are at the forefront of digitalising the integrated water cycle. Our IT department drives the adoption of new information technologies to enhance water consumption monitoring and management. Among other tools, we have developed proprietary software for the management of municipal services. This user-friendly platform enables our clients to easily oversee contracts, meter readings, billing, payments, and customer service. In addition, we are actively involved in a project through Spain’s PERTE programme for the digitalisation of the integrated water cycle.
The Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge has awarded Espina & Delfín 7 million euros in funding for its project to digitalise the urban water cycle, submitted under the first call for proposals of the Water Digitalisation PERTE (Proyectos Estratégicos para la Recuperación y Transformación Económica, Strategic Projects for Economic Recovery and Transformation), a Spanish government initiative.
Espina & Delfín has launched an ambitious project to digitalise the integrated water cycle in nine Galician municipalities, aiming to implement the latest digital technologies (including digital twins, AI, Geographic Information Systems, and data-access apps and platforms) in small- and medium-sized town councils, which are often overlooked in the adoption of new innovations. This project comprises 20 interrelated initiatives across different categories, all centred on a clear objective: the management of data related to the water cycle.
The initiative seeks to digitalise and process information covering 3% of Galicia’s population within a maximum period of three years, with the goal of extending the knowledge gained through this PERTE water project to support the remainder of the population served by the company, representing 15% of Galicia’s population. Entitled Automation and Digitalisation of the Water Cycle in the Municipalities of Cartelle, Cerceda, Coirós, Leiro, Negreira, Palas de Rei, Sarria, Vilagarcía de Arousa, and Vilanova de Arousa, managed by Espina & Delfín, the project aims to implement measures to digitalise, analyse, and manage water cycle data, ensuring maximum transparency and co-governance with public administrations and end users. It also seeks to foster environmental engagement from all stakeholders in every process related to water resources.
The real-time collection and analysis of data through various tools, integrating the latest technology for the digitalisation of the water cycle, will enable more effective and efficient management of water resources—not only by the operator but also by those best positioned to drive environmental improvements: users and local authorities. The project features different platforms and applications that will allow both parties to make use of municipal-wide data as well as individual data.
These include remote meter reading for subscribers, installation of flow meters, analysis of physicochemical parameters, programming of data acquisition and control systems, network sectorisation, Geographic Information Systems, network modelling, cybersecurity, digital twins, and AI platforms, all supported by cybersecurity systems and underpinned by applications promoting co-governance and transparency.
The project proposes implementing this set of 20 initiatives in medium- and small-sized municipalities in Galicia, led by a ‘pilot’ municipality—in this case, the region’s seventh-largest city, Vilagarcía de Arousa. The core idea of the project is straightforward: to accumulate sufficient experience to export the knowledge gained to the rest of the population managed by the company, and to do so within a relatively short timeframe, as it will be fully operational in the nine municipalities within three years.
Throughout this implementation, Espina & Delfín aims to maximise the value derived from the data collected, creating a new way of managing the water cycle and fostering synergies with public administrations and users through shared information. In short, the goal is to bring the digitalisation of the integrated water cycle, and its results, closer to everyone, with a particular focus on one of the most underserved groups: the rural population.
This page will showcase the progress of the 20 initiatives that Espina & Delfín will carry out across the nine municipalities.
