Guaranteeing sustainability
Managing critical water assets
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Awareness & understanding
Increase food production
Welfare & healthy growth
Ensuring safe water
Access to timely water data
Reliable observation and forecasting
Information-based value
Efficient processes
Sustainable water infrastructures
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Support, prevent and improve
Innovative, fast and low risk
Cost effective and scalable
2026-10-02
The technology developed by Adasa for the continuous microbiological monitoring of water has been recognised at the iAgua 2026 Awards for its ability to transform an analysis traditionally carried out in a laboratory into information that can be used for decision-making.
This recognition highlights a technology developed to address one of the main challenges that still exist in water quality control: the time that elapses between taking a microbiological sample and the result becoming available.
For decades, this control has been based primarily on a familiar process: taking a sample, transporting it to the laboratory, analysing it and waiting for the result. This procedure is essential as an analytical benchmark, but the time involved can limit the ability to respond to an incident of contamination.
By the time the result arrives, the water analysed may already have been distributed, reused, discharged or used for bathing. aquaBio changes this approach: it brings microbiological analysis to the very point where water is managed.
From a one-off sample to actionable information
aquaBio automatically detects and quantifies E. coli, total coliforms and enterococci, providing results within approximately 3 to 12 hours. The system can operate autonomously and carry out successive analyses without the need for a technician to travel to the sampling point for each sample. In this way, microbiological data ceases to be merely a one-off snapshot and becomes part of routine water quality monitoring.
This enables information to be available sooner in the event of a potential contamination incident, allows its progression to be tracked and, in particular, enables a faster identification of when the water returns to adequate quality levels. The result is microbiological data that is much closer to the moment when decisions need to be made.
Verified technology
One of the key distinguishing features of aquaBio is its ETV (Environmental Technology Verification) certification in accordance with ISO 14034, which provides an independent assessment of the performance claimed by the technology.
This verification is particularly relevant in microbiology, where the introduction of new measurement technologies requires proof that automation and greater data availability are not achieved at the expense of the reliability of the results.
From bathing water to reuse and supply
Potential applications span different stages of the water cycle: bathing areas, treatment and reuse plants, agriculture, industry, environmental monitoring and water intended for human consumption.
The regulatory framework also reinforces the need for increasingly representative information on water quality. Risk-based management, safe reuse and greater foresight are increasing the value of technologies capable of complementing conventional laboratory monitoring with more continuous surveillance.
aquaBio has already been deployed in microbiological monitoring projects both within and outside Spain, ranging from bathing waters to reclaimed water and water supply.
Turning time into responsiveness
The iAgua Award recognises not only the technological development of aquaBio, but also the shift in approach that it represents. Because when it comes to water quality, measurement is essential. But knowing sooner means acting sooner.
With aquaBio, Adasa continues to make progress towards its aim of applying technology and knowledge to achieve safer, more proactive and data-driven water management.
