Águas do Douro e Paiva won the Gold Award at the IWA Project Innovation Awards 2026, awarded by the International Water Association, with a project that transforms the sludges from water treatment into raw material for the ceramic industry. “From sludge to tiles: a case of circular economy in the water sector” won the Performance Improvement and Operational Solutions category, one of the six categories of the awards, in a edition with 320 applications from 65 countries and 23 finalists. The distinction was handed over in Glasgow, United Kingdom, during the IWA World Water Congress & Exhibition.
Every year, the company channels about 2,280 tonnes of sludge from the Lever Water Treatment Plant to the ceramic industry, where they are used to produce approximately 14 million tiles. The project originated from a research collaboration with the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (FEUP) and the Ceramic and Glass Technological Center (CTCV), with the aim of finding alternatives to disposing of this sludge in landfills. The solution enables 100% valorization of these sludges, avoiding landfill.
“This Gold makes us naturally very proud. It recognises a solution that arose from a concrete challenge in our activity and that today allows transforming water treatment sludges into raw material for ceramic tiles,” says Bruno Coimbra, chairman of the board of Águas do Douro e Paiva, who highlights the value of bringing companies closer to academia and knowledge centres. At the same congress, the company also received the Climate Smart Utility 2026 certificate, in the Achiever category, which recognises entities for their work in addressing climate change.
In the same week, the company, which serves 1.8 million people in the Greater Porto region, announced another development. Seven municipalities in the Dão and Médio Vouga regions (Viseu, Mangualde, Nelas, Penalva do Castelo, Sátão, São Pedro do Sul and Vouzela) approved joining Águas do Douro e Paiva, which will have 27 shareholder municipalities and an intervention area of 4,446 square kilometres, compared with the current 2,715. The expansion foresees the interconnection of the Lever systems, originating from the Douro River, with Fagilde, a new treatment plant and a new dam in Fagilde, to strengthen the response to situations of water scarcity.
