Barcelona, Spain – December 2024 – The Barcelona Water and Sewerage Company (Aigües de Barcelona) has reported a 30% improvement in energy efficiency and 25% lower maintenance costs at its largest water treatment plant after upgrading to the ABB DO810 digital output module. The deployment, completed in November 2024, modernized the plant’s aging pump and valve control system, which serves 1.2 million residents in the Barcelona metropolitan area.
The Challenge: Outdated Controls Threaten Water Quality and Efficiency
The plant, built in 2005, relied on legacy digital output modules to control 64 pumps, 128 valves, and 32 chemical dosing systems—critical components for filtering and disinfecting drinking water. By 2023, the old modules were causing significant issues:
- Inefficient Pump Operation: The modules lacked precise control over pump speed and on/off cycles, leading to energy waste. Pumps often ran at full capacity even when water demand was low, increasing electricity costs by €120,000 annually.
- Frequent Valve Failures: The old modules’ weak output current (1A per channel) couldn’t reliably power the plant’s large diaphragm valves, leading to 15–20 valve failures monthly. Each failure required 4 hours of maintenance and risked water quality violations.
- Poor Diagnostics: The modules provided no real-time alerts for wiring issues or overloads, forcing technicians to manually inspect each unit monthly—taking 32 hours of labor per month.
- Compliance Risks: Inconsistent chemical dosing (caused by module signal delays) led to occasional fluctuations in water chlorine levels, putting the plant at risk of non-compliance with EU drinking water standards (Directive 98/83/EC).
“As a public utility, we have a responsibility to deliver safe water at an affordable cost,” said Maria Lopez, the plant’s operations director. “Our old modules were compromising both—wasting energy and putting water quality at risk. We needed a reliable, efficient solution.”
ABB DO810: The Municipal-Grade Control Solution
Aigües de Barcelona selected the ABB DO810 after a rigorous 6-month evaluation, citing its high output capacity, durability, and compliance-ready features:
- High-Power Output: The DO810 delivers 2A per channel (double the old modules’ capacity), reliably powering the plant’s large valves and pumps. This eliminated valve failures caused by insufficient current.
- Precision Control: The module’s fast signal transmission (<10ms latency) enables precise dosing of chlorine and coagulants, maintaining water quality within EU standards. It integrates with the plant’s SCADA system to adjust pump speed based on real-time water demand.
- Advanced Diagnostics: Built-in self-monitoring features alert technicians to wiring faults, overloads, or module overheating via the SCADA system. This allows predictive maintenance, addressing issues before they cause failures.
- Rugged Design: The DO810’s corrosion-resistant components and wide operating temperature range (-20°C to +60°C) withstand the plant’s wet, humid environment. It’s certified to meet ISO 9001 (quality) and ISO 14001 (environmental) standards, aligning with the utility’s sustainability goals.
Implementation & Community Impact
The plant’s engineering team, supported by ABB’s water infrastructure specialists, deployed 32 DO810 modules over 8 weeks. The phased installation ensured water treatment continued uninterrupted, with each section of the plant offline for just 24 hours. The results have been transformative:
- Energy efficiency improved by 30%: Precise pump control reduced the plant’s annual electricity use by 360,000 kWh, saving €108,000 (based on Spain’s industrial electricity rate of €0.30/kWh). This aligns with Barcelona’s goal of carbon neutrality by 2030.
- Maintenance costs cut by 25%: Valve failures dropped to 2–3 monthly, and diagnostic alerts reduced manual inspections by 75% (saving 24 hours of labor per month). Annual maintenance savings total €36,000.
- Water quality compliance rate reaches 100%: Consistent chemical dosing eliminated chlorine fluctuations, ensuring the plant meets EU drinking water standards with zero violations.
- Operational uptime increased by 5%: Fewer failures and faster maintenance improved the plant’s overall uptime, ensuring reliable water supply for 1.2 million residents.
“The DO810 has been a game-changer for our plant,” Lopez said. “It’s not just a module—it’s a critical part of our commitment to delivering safe, affordable water. The energy savings alone will allow us to invest in other infrastructure improvements.”
Carlos Ruiz, ABB’s global water sector lead, emphasized the DO810’s relevance for municipal utilities. “Water treatment plants need modules that are reliable, efficient, and easy to maintain—especially when serving millions of people,” he said. “The DO810 is engineered to meet those needs, helping utilities reduce costs while protecting public health.”
