Foto monotorització xarxa hidràulica Port Tarragona

Innovation in the management of the Port of Tarragona’s drinking water hydraulic network

Project manager

Department of Projects, Works and Maintenance of the Port Authority of Tarragona and PROACIT.

Description of the project

EMATSA, Empresa Municipal Mixta de Aguas de Tarragona, is the trading company of the Tarragona City Council and the AGBAR group that has managed, for 40 years, the integral water cycle in Tarragona, therefore, it is the distributor of drinking water to the port of Tarragona.

The Port Authority of Tarragona is responsible for supplying drinking water within the port area and manages its availability and the quality of drinking water.

PROACIT, also a member of SOM-INN PORT, is an industrial technology consultancy that drives industries towards their digital transformation thanks to the most advanced technological solutions based on the concept of industry 4.0.

In the Port of Tarragona, the hydraulic drinking water network covers the entire port area, with three high supply contracts, serving three pumping centres with an approximate capacity of 600 m3 each, through which water is distributed throughout the Port.

The Port Authority supplies around 250,000 m3 of water per year to the port’s hydraulic network, providing service to the Port Authority itself (buildings, facilities, fountains, parks and gardens), to the companies located in the port area and to all those vessels that require the supply of drinking water.

In order to carry out a more efficient management of the provision of drinking water supply service in the Port of Tarragona, the Port Authority has launched the project “Monitoring and instrumentation of the hydraulic drinking water network of the Port of Tarragona“.

This pioneering project stands out for integrating multiple innovative technologies to transform the hydraulic network into an intelligent system, which maximise its efficiency and sustainability while modernising the infrastructure.

The monitoring has been carried out using the following technologies:

The existing fibre optic network of the Port of Tarragona.
Development and implementation in a LoRAWAN network throughout the port area, installing 13 LoRA antennas.
Development and implementation of the Siemens WINCC OA platform, with its WEB GIS application.
Development and implementation of the PLANT VALUE platform, for the processing of data from the WINCC OA, applying artificial intelligence to govern, control and audit consumption in the network, system losses, breakdowns and balance of water use.

The instrumentation, which includes advanced sensors, has been carried out using the following equipment:

Network Sensors: Programmable Logic Controller (P.L.C.), electrical network analyzers, low voltage switchgear, chlorine analyzers, ph, temperature and relative humidity sensors, flow meter, pressure regulator, pressure switches, gate valves, pulse counters and security and safety perimeter closure states.
LoRA sensors: LoRAWAN network, flow stats, valve states and pulse counters.

In this way, the Port of Tarragona sets new standards in the automated management of water supply systems to the port network and positions itself in the digital transformation of port infrastructures and sustainable innovation.

Objective of the project

The main objective of the project is to integrate multiple innovative technologies to transform the Port’s hydraulic network into an intelligent system, with advanced tools such as artificial intelligence, and to maximise its efficiency and sustainability while modernising the infrastructure.

Expected benefits of innovation

To incorporate advanced technologies for the improvement of the hydraulic network.
Improve energy efficiency in the optimal consumption of pumping water to the network (kwh/m3).
Guarantee efficient access to the supply of drinking water to the entire port community.
To optimize the quality of the drinking water supply (adequate water treatment), improving transport and distribution in hygienic conditions.
Manage billing and the entire customer service process.
Reduce losses and deviations throughout the drinking water supply network in the port area.