The GUARDIAN project

GUARDIAN is a project aimed at increasing fire resilience in an area of the Parc Natural del Túria. The initiative, subsidised by the European Union, has been led by Riba-roja de Túria Town Council and Paterna Town Council, together with Hidraqua, Medi XXI, the Universitat de València, the Universitat Politècnica de València and Cetaqua. The Parc Natural del Túria (Generalitat Valenciana) has also collaborated in the project.

Its actions include the design and construction of a water regeneration plant (ERA) to remove emerging micropollutants, which treats part of the effluent from the Camp de Túria II WWTP. The reclaimed water is used, through water cannons, for the preventive and maintenance irrigation of the green barriers that protect the wildland-urban interface against fire, without using drinking water.

The project has also included the transport and distribution network for the reclaimed water (tanks, pipelines and pumping stations), the monitoring of climatic and agronomic conditions, the restoration of the protected wetland of the La Vallesa reservoir, forestry and vegetation management work, the introduction of fire-resilient species, training for the population in fire prevention and self-protection, a socio-economic analysis of its impact and a study of its replicability in other urban areas.

Climate change has increased the risk of fires and the threat to the so-called wildland-urban interface, where homes and forest intermingle.

Riba-roja de Túria has suffered 40 forest fires and Paterna 19. Their residential estates lie within the Túria Natural Park, where the fire risk is high.

Reclaimed water offers a tool to defend against this growing risk: a resource that is available all year round, does not compete with drinking water and closes the water cycle in line with circular economy principles.