Innovative solutions to maximize the value of water

World Water Day, March 22, is an official United Nations day celebrated every year since 1993 to highlight the importance of water. In 2022, the UN dedicates this day to groundwater, an "invisible" and undervalued resource.

At Grupo Red Control-LTL, aware of the social, environmental, cultural and vital value that this resource has, we offer innovative solutions to maximize the value of water, always from a sustainable and socially responsible development of its activity.

To this end, we continue to expand their analytical services related to groundwater, including in our portfolio of accredited tests the most frequent contaminants in groundwater (nitrates, pesticides such as glyphosate, geogenic contaminants such as arsenic or fluoride, compounds of industrial origin - tricloethane, tetrachloroethane- or plasticizers -bisphenol A-). Likewise, its sampling and inspection activities in this area are covered by the accreditation according to the UNE EN ISO 17025 and 17020 standards.

 

The unseen ingredient

Population growth, rapid urbanization and economic development are some of the factors behind the increasing demand for water, energy and food. Agriculture is the largest consumer of freshwater resources in the world, with around 40% of all water used for irrigation coming from aquifers. The overexploitation of aquifers for irrigated agriculture, together with the abuse of fertilizers and pesticides and the inadequate management of agri-food waste, can cause groundwater to be depleted or its quality to decrease.

 

Groundwater quality and contamination

Threats to groundwater quality are pollution of natural origin and polluting sources from land use and other human activities. Natural arsenic contamination of groundwater affects millions of people on all continents, both through direct consumption and through the production of contaminated food. Anthropic pollution includes the effects of the intensification of agricultural activities, urbanization, population growth and climate change. In North America and Europe, nitrates and pesticides are a major threat to groundwater quality: 20% of groundwater bodies in the European Union fail to comply with EU water quality legislation due to agricultural pollution ; in Spain, the masses of water threatened by nitrates reach 46%. Therefore, the quality of groundwater must be subject to periodic evaluation and control.

 

Groundwater and Sustainable Development Goals

To achieve most of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda, good groundwater management is essential. In fact, of the 169 SDG targets, 53 are related to this resource. Examples of these are target 2.4, target 6.6 and target 15.1.

Let us take advantage of this day to reflect from all social and economic spheres: How can I contribute to making the invisible visible?