The company takes on the challenge of continuing to work for the next two decades to take care of the quality of life of the residents of Calatayud and its urban and natural environment

The mayor of Calatayud, José Manuel Aranda, and the general director of Aquara, Jesús García del Valle, signed this morning the contract for the management of the municipal water service of the city and its pedestrian neighborhoods. This is one of the most important concessions of the City Council, with a duration of 20 years and a total amount of 34.9 million euros. The new contract comes into operation on October 1 and incorporates improvements that will optimize the service that the people of Bilbao receive.

Investments to modernize hydraulic infrastructures, technological improvements that improve water quality, the implementation of the supply and sanitation service in the Marivella urbanization, the guarantee of access to all people with special support for vulnerable families and the environmental commitment with the integration of Measures aligned with the SDGs are the keys to this new concession that will transform the municipal water service of Calatayud in the coming months.

"Water is an essential service and it is up to the City Council to guarantee its provision in adequate conditions, taking advantage of technological improvements and working in a spirit of constant improvement. Under these premises, the City Council has successfully carried out a contract that incorporates important improvements that they will have an impact on the day-to-day life of the city. I thank the Aquara company for their commitment and commitment to our town ", highlighted Mayor José Manuel Aranda.

The Department of Services, Concessions and Large Contracts has managed this project. For José Hueso, deputy mayor and councilor responsible for this municipal area: "It has been more than two years of work in a process in which eight bidders have participated and that due to the complexity of the regulations on large public contracts has required a large effort of the City Council's technical teams, whom I thank for their work ".

For his part, the general director of Aquara, Jesús García del Valle, has expressed his gratitude to the Consistory for the trust shown "in the beginning of a new journey in which water, following the path that we have already traveled for more than two decades, it will be synonymous with sustainability, innovation, progress, efficiency and social responsibility. "

Main bets

In addition to the management of drinking water and municipal sewerage in both Calatayud and the pedáneos neighborhoods (Huérmeda, Torres and Embid), other improvements are added that have the purpose of optimizing the service. Aquara will allocate an annual canon to investments for the renovation of hydraulic infrastructures and the replacement of supply and sanitation networks. In this way, Calatayud will incorporate modernized, efficient and resilient infrastructures to the effects of climate change.

Investments in new infrastructures will especially affect the Marivella urbanization, where the company assumes the implementation of supply and sanitation services. These works will be carried out during the first three years of the contract and their investment is estimated at 4.2 million euros. The intervention will be completed with the connection of the urban center of Marivella to the municipal networks, following the urbanization project.

The quality of the water consumed by the neighbors will be improved with the incorporation of technological advances in facilities that alleviate the incrustations and minimize the hardness of the water. In the same line of caring for the service that citizens receive, the company will act in its facilities to facilitate care for all people. The purpose is to guarantee a 100% accessible service, with inclusive, close and personalized attention.

An annual social fund will be created to guarantee access to water for vulnerable individuals and families. This social fund will cover the amount of water bills of people who cannot afford the payment, reinforcing the commitment to solidarity and universal access to an essential service that the City Council and the company already had.

The 2030 Agenda occupies a strategic position in all the lines included in the new contract. Aquara will continue to promote projects that contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals with actions for the preservation of water, the fight against climate change, the reduction of inequalities or environmental, social and cultural awareness. Precisely these measures have marked the projects that the company has already launched in Calatayud, with children's environmental education programs, workshops to raise awareness about water and care for the natural environment, among many others.