The XXXVII AEAS Congress was held in Castellón between June 5 and 7, which brought together more than 900 congress participants and the main experts, professionals, companies, institutions, organizations and public administrations of our country, for the debate and transfer of knowledge of those aspects that arouse greater interest related to the integral urban water cycle. An event that traditionally stands out for its participatory nature, and where the values that make efficiency, competition and cooperation possible, hallmarks of a highly professionalized sector, are highlighted.

CATABB has actively participated in the congress with the attendance of several members of the team, in addition to the presentation of two papers on projects carried out in CATABB itself. On Thursday, Maite Cabañas from Consorcio de Aguas Bilbao Bizkaia (CABB) and Jonatan Garcia from UTE Aquambiente-Gaiker, manager of CATABB, presented the paper “Haloacetic acids. The trending topic of disinfection by-products” in which they explained how, following the inclusion of these parameters in the RD 03/2023, the CABB has decided to deepen in the mechanisms of formation and elimination of them throughout the treatment in different scenarios. On Friday it was the turn of the presentation entitled “Solution to the problem of overchlorination in drinking water”, in which Luis María Hernando from CABB and Ana Urkiaga from UTE Aquambiente-Gaiker, manager of CATABB, explained the efficiency of the use of sodium bisulfite in the neutralization of drinking water with excess chlorine, the harmless effects on the quality of treated water, as well as the most appropriate dosing method in network tanks. CATABB has also been part of other projects presented in presentations by collaborating entities such as the CETHAP project, which was fed with data from the plant itself, or the LIFE Pristine project, in which emerging contaminants in drinking water will be analyzed.

To round off the good reception of CATABB’s projects during the congress, Iñaki Leturia, Erika Elizari and Inma Álvarez, from Euskal Telebista, were awarded the second runner-up prize in the VI edition of the journalism award and closing ceremony of the congress for their report “The challenges of water” within the program Teknopolis. Among the various topics covered in the report, the activities carried out at CATABB to confirm the optimal treatments to ensure the potabilization of the Nervión river water and result in quality water are presented.