Municipal Reuse Project of the Year
Béziers Hybrid Batch RO Plant, France
What is it?
A world-first proving ground in southern France for the use of high-recovery reverse osmosis in wastewater treatment for indirect potable reuse purposes, recycling municipal wastewater for reinjection into aquifers.
Who is involved?
The plant was developed by Suez, supported by ADEME (the French Agency for Ecological Transition). UK-based Salinity Solutions designed, built and supplied its HyBatch reverse osmosis (RO) system for the plant.
What makes it special?
- By generating water for aquifer recharge, the project supports strategic long-term resilience in a region facing increasing water scarcity, climate stress and saline aquifer intrusion that all pile pressure on freshwater resources.
- The use of the HyBatch system’s piston-driven pressure exchanger system to recirculate feedwater until the target recovery is met dramatically reduces the energy consumption by more than 20% and significantly cuts both the potential for scaling and the need for chemical cleaning while extending membrane lifespan.
- By delivering extremely high recovery rates of up to 98%, a smaller, more concentrated waste stream means reduced downstream processing requirements, overall contributing to the carbon footprint and energy reduction credentials of the reuse programme.
Hofstade Water Production Center, Belgium
What is it?
Europe’s first municipal direct potable reuse (DPR) facility treating around 1,300m3/d of wastewater at a facility in Hofstade (Aalst), Flanders. Treated wastewater is blended into the national grid, forming a new climate-resilient source of resource security in the water-stressed region.
Who is involved?
The facility was developed by Waterunie, the regional utility consolidated in 2025. Lead engineering for the plant was supplied by partner Nuoro, while equipment was provided by Aquafin (biological treatment) and DuPont Water Solutions (reverse osmosis and ultrafiltration modules).
What makes it special?
- The project has made DPR a reality at utility scale for Europe, bringing a laggardly region into alignment with the most water-serious parts of the world in terms of technological expertise and regulatory flexibility.
- The direct reuse credentials of the project are boosted by the inclusion of aquifer storage and recovery capabilities, forming a seasonal buffer that means water recycling can pay off at every point of the year, aligning production with demand and building system-level resilience in an area that suffers from wet winters and dry summers.
- By offering a design that simultaneously satisfies water quality and carbon footprint requirements through judicious use of energy recovery, the facility offers a crucial template for advanced water recycling strategies throughout the European Union even in an environment of strict and tightening regulations.
Saadiyat Sewage Treatment Plant 2 Upgrade, Abu Dhabi
What is it?
A membrane bio-reactor (MBR)-based overhaul of the 9,750m3/d sewage treatment plant on Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi, delivering high-quality, reliable recycled water for non-potable purposes, meeting the stringent recycled water quality standards set by the emirate’s Department of Energy and allowing for safe, sustainable reuse on one of the key development hubs for the city.
Who is involved?
The project is owned and operated by Taqa Water Solutions. Veolia Water Technologies supplied and integrated its Zenon hollow-fibre MBR system.
What makes it special?
- The integration of MBR to the plant’s capabilities allows it to effectively handle significantly higher flow rates while consistently meeting the stringent reuse standards, a crucial requirement in one of the rapidly growing emirate’s urban development hot-spots.
- By creating a reliable source of recycled water for landscaping, district cooling and other non-potable applications across the island, the facility strengthens the water resilience of the ever-expanding city at a time when water resources are under unprecedented pressure.
- The project also offers significant operating cost savings, reducing its energy footprint by up to 15%. It clears the way for a huge expansion in overall capacity for the plant as Saadiyat Island continues to expand and creates a scaleable blueprint for future reuse expansion in Abu Dhabi.
SAPAL Indirect Potable Reuse Plant, Mexico
What is it?
A pioneering indirect potable reuse (IPR) project, treating 60 litres a second (~3,500m3/d) of municipal wastewater from the city of León, Guanajuato, for reinjection into the reservoir, and forming a critical plank of the client’s ground-breaking ERA (estaciones regeneradoras de agua) municipal reuse scheme.
Who is involved?
The project was delivered by Mexico’s EcoAzur, partnering with system supplier NX Filtration using its hollow fibre nanofiltration (HFNF) technology. Equipment was also supplied by Xylem (ozonation) and Invent (filtration). The client was Sistema de Agua Potable y Alcantarillado de León (SAPAL).
What makes it special?
- The deployment of IPR at a world-leading scale decouples the growing city from volatile surface and groundwater conditions, in a region that has seen rapidly degrading natural resources – Guanajuato was the first state in Mexico to declare an aquifer closed, and has imported water from neighbouring states since the 1970s.
- The ground-breaking multi-barrier treatment approach (HFNF, advanced oxidation, UV) removes over 95% of organic micropollutants, bacteria, viruses, PFAS, pesticides, and natural organic matter without the need for coagulants or complex chemical pretreatment, and underscores the role lower-pressure membrane technology can play as an alternative to reverse osmosis in reuse.
- Successful completion of the first phase of the project has set the stage for an already-underway expansion that will expand capacity almost seven times over, making it the largest hollow fibre nanofiltration plant in the world and demonstrating that reuse technology can take effect even at the largest urban scale.
Yarkon River Redemption, Israel
What is it?
The groundbreaking culmination of a decades-long regeneration of an urban river area, and the creation of a new source of recycled water for agricultural and other irrigation purposes, with the use of ultrafiltration to treat around 32,000m3/d of mixed surface water and supply it for reuse in local and agricultural irrigation.
Who is involved?
The project was originated by the Water Authority and delivered by national water company Mekorot through its EMS projects division as lead contractor. Mekorot owns and operates the plant. Water is treated by sunken UF membranes supplied by Veolia.
What makes it special?
- The project brings to life a vital alternative source for the freshwater irrigation of the Yarkon Park, the largest green urban area of the extended Tel Aviv region, as well as for drought-hit regional agriculture through the development of an extensive distribution network.
- By creating another recycling step from what had previously been the end-point of the natural water system, the project marks a blow for water reuse and demonstrates that further and further value can be squeezed from the water cycle without the need for more usage of scarce freshwater sources in an arid region.
- The redemption of the waterway creates an attractive natural space and leisure space out of a river that had long suffered from a triple threat of over-abstraction for pumping, the dumping of sewage from surrounding urban areas and intrusion of saline water into its estuary.