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How to achieve safe drinking water with activated carbon

Providing safe, high-quality drinking water is becoming increasingly complex. Utilities face growing challenges from changing raw water conditions, stricter regulations, and the need to maintain reliable operations for the communities they serve. Learn how these challenges are mastered in Catalonia, Spain.

Article takeaways

A proven approach: The Tarragona Water Consortium uses activated carbon filtration to support reliable operations and safe water production.

Trusted technology & partners: Treatment technology and trusted partnerships are becoming increasingly important in meeting today’s water quality and regulatory challenges.

Key facts

Output

4m3

per second

Population reached

~800,000

during winter

Population reached

~1,500,000

during summer

In Tarragona, Spain, the regional water consortium supplies drinking water to 70 municipalities and 27 industrial customers, serving up to 1.5 million people during peak demand periods. A key part of its treatment process is granular activated carbon (GAC) filtration, which helps remove organic contaminants, toxic compounds, and other impurities from source water taken from the Ebro River.

Since 2008, the utility has partnered with Kemira for activated carbon supply and reactivation services, as well as coagulation and flocculation solutions that support the production of safe drinking water.

In the video below, Aleix Martorell from the Tarragona Water Consortium explains how activated carbon filtration contributes to reliable water treatment and why strong supplier partnerships are increasingly important in today’s operating environment.

▶ Watch the video

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