The Spanish Association of Desalination and Reuse (AEDyR) on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of its foundation has decided to carry out the realization of a documentary about the history of desalination in Spain.
The documentary, entitled DESALACIÓN EN ESPAÑA EN PRIMERA PERSONA: DE HITOS PIONEROS, A REFERENTE INTERNACIONAL addresses the history of the desalination industry in Spain since its origins in 1964 with the construction of the first desalination plant in Lanzarote (Canary Islands), until today, when it is the main reference worldwide, with a production capacity of five million cubic meters per day of desalinated water for human consumption, supply and agricultural and industrial use. And it does it through its protagonists, gathering in a round table some of the pioneers in working in this field in Spain.
Juan María Sánchez, Founder of ECOAGUA, participates in the documentary as one of the pioneers in desalination in Spain, after starting to work in this industry at Babcock & Wilcox in 1975. Through his anecdotes and those of the rest of the pioneers: Manuel Fariñas, Juan Antonio García Arroyo, Mª Carmen García, José Antonio Medina and Miguel Torres, the history of the industry in Spain is reviewed, highlighting the milestones that have marked the evolution of desalination technology and emphasizing the importance of Spanish companies worldwide since currently 4 of them are in the world Top Ten by contracted capacity.
Noemí Sánchez, Project Director of ECOAGUA and member of the Management Committee of Aedyr has been the Coordinator and Technical Advisor of the Project, which has been directed by Elena Prieto Landaluce. The documentary was presented in the last edition of the XII International Aedyr Congress held between October 23 and 25 in Toledo, the documentary is now available on the website https://historiadesalacion.es/.