Cape Verde is a country deeply affected by water scarcity. The increased droughts and sea level rise that is causing the salination of the groundwater will have deep effects in the archipelago’s water reserves. For this reason, the improvement of wastewater treatment is of upmost importance to increase water availability for non-potable applications, such as the irrigation of fields and green spaces, street and car washing, among others.

The Phos-Value Project is an innovative initiative, promoted by AquaInSilico, that capacitates Cape Verde’s wastewater treatment sector to improve its water quality using AquaInSilico’s pioneering digital intelligence tool - UPWATER^® - and the industry’s best practices. This initiative was supported by the UNDP – Ocean Innovation Challenge, and financed by the Swedish and Norwegian agencies for development, SIDA and NORAD. To increase the impact and outreach of the project, a consortium was formed composed of Portuguese and Cape Verdean entities such as Agência Nacional de Água e Saneamento (ANAS), Águas de Santiago (AdS), Águas de Portugal Internacional (AdPI), NOVA University of Lisbon and Portuguese Water Partnership (PWP).

The improvements achieved by the implementation of Phos-Value solutions in the pilot wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in Santa Catarina, Cape Verde enabled a significant reduction of pollutant emissions to water bodies, preventing eutrophication and contributing for a better ocean and human health. Additionally, the project was able to gather insights on how to achieve a circular economy for the reuse of treated water and other value-added products, such as biofertilizers, that could be used to promote new revenue streams and business models. The Phos-Value deeply focused on the capacitation of the technical teams and equipment acquisition for laboratory analysis and control of plant operation, contributing for the empowerment of these teams with cutting edge knowledge and know-how. Overall, the results achieved had a positive impact in the social, environmental, and economic sectors. 

AquaInSilico is delighted to present, through this capstone event, the results achieved by the implementation of Phos-Value sustainable solutions over these two years in Santa Catarina, Cape Verde, which help increase awareness on the importance of the wastewater treatment, and promote a circular model in wastewater sector, transforming this into a more sustainable and greener sector.

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