Aguas de Alicante's laboratory
 

Aguas de Alicante has its own laboratory for analysing water in the complete cycle in the municipalities that it manages. It has a highly qualified team with extensive experience, which, added to the most advanced technology, ensures that the requirements and technical demands for quality established in current legislation for water, sludge, sediment and waste are met.

Every year, over 50,000 analyses are undertaken in the laboratory. In other words, over 10,000 samples (from matrices such as drinking water, wastewater, reclaimed water, waste, industrial discharge, sediment, sludge and leachates) are processed and analysed.

In the Aguas de Alicante laboratory, the following can be undertaken:

• Physicochemical analysis: anions, cations, volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds, pesticides, trihalomethanes, metals and hydrocarbons.
• Microbiological analysis: indicators of faecal contamination, Salmonella, Vibrio cholerae, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Legionella, nematodes, intestinal parasites, protozoa, filamentous bacteria, algae, etc.

Drinking water quality is controlled in all EU countries by the same regulations, Directive 98/83/EC. This regulation is based on World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations and was transposed into Spanish legislation through Royal Decree 140/2003. The Royal Decree establishes that 53 parameters should be controlled; Aguas de Alicante controls all these in its laboratory. Thus, it meets all legal requirements so that the water supply is completely safe to drink.

Water samples from Aguas de Alicante installations (wells, tanks, distribution networks and consumers' taps, etc.) are analysed daily in the laboratory, to ensure that the water meets all legal requirements and to guarantee that it is extremely safe for consumption.

The laboratory has a quality system for all areas, as can be seen in the recognitions and accreditations listed below:

• Analytical laboratory registered in the 'NATIONAL LIST OF LABORATORIES FOR CONTROLLING THE QUALITY OF WATER FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION OF THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH, SOCIAL SERVICES AND EQUALITY'
• Laboratory analysing water for human consumption registered in the 'REGIONAL GOVERNMENT OF VALENCIA'S DEPARTMENT OF UNIVERSAL AND PUBLIC HEALTH'.
• Laboratory with UNE-EN ISO 9001 certification, as required in Royal Decree 140/2003 establishing the hygiene and health standards for water for human consumption. Laboratorio en disposición del certificado por la UNE-EN ISO 9001 exigido en el Real Decreto 140/2003 por el que se establecen los criterios higiénico-sanitarios de las agua de consumo. 
• Laboratory accredited by UNE-EN-ISO 17025 for laboratory analysis; maximum accreditation for test laboratories at international level, provided by the Spanish National Accreditation Agency.