"EPAL projects thrive when all employees are engaged and contributing across departments"

My interest in life sciences began with my academic background in biology. EPAL was already a leading company in Portugal and internationally, so joining the water sector through a growing, innovative, and structured company that offered access to knowledge and skill development was an unmissable opportunity. That’s how I began my professional career in the water utilities world. Ensuring fast and accurate information about water quality was a fantastic goal. I studied life sciences to work with one of the most vital resources for life – water. Truly, water is life.

But opportunities to gain a broader view of a water utility emerged – it was the late 1990s, and the water sector in Portugal was undergoing a major transformation in governance, with the creation of the Águas de Portugal Group, which EPAL joined, to manage the significant infrastructure investments needed in bulk systems.

After more than 20 years of development and application of WONE® and the Asset Management System, EPAL is now more efficient and resilient

With an MBA, I moved into Customer Management, joining a fantastic team, and taking on a broader mission – delivering quality and quantity of service to customers and optimising customer relations. From commercial operations to managing EPAL’s distribution network was a quick step, and leading operational teams 24/7 was one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had, bringing me closer to one of the company’s core functions – system operations.

Now leading Asset Management, I’m fortunate to have a transversal understanding of EPAL and its operational areas, the need to ensure service quality, and the imperative for the company to be economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable. Leading this area is an extraordinary challenge, as we bridge operational teams and the board, striving for efficiency while maintaining the value of EPAL’s assets.

Contributing our best is a duty for any professional, but in this sector, it’s even more critical – we deal with a scarce and essential resource… water… life.

EPAL’s WONE program famously cut water losses in Lisbon from around 23% to under 9% within a decade. How has EPAL built on this success to further improve network efficiency and resilience?

Reducing non-revenue water at EPAL was indeed a major success from 2004 to the present, and it continues to define EPAL’s excellence. Achieving extraordinary results that remain a national and international benchmark, the development of WONE® was a key pillar of this success, though not the only one. EPAL has embedded the strategy of water loss reduction across the organisation. In practice, every department contributes daily to reducing losses and non-revenue water, making it a central focus.

WONE® has proven to be much more than a loss-reduction tool. It enables continuous monitoring of the distribution network, assessment of its vulnerabilities, and guidance for optimisation measures. After more than 20 years of development and application of WONE® and the Asset Management System, EPAL is now more efficient and resilient, with its network rehabilitation investment plan based on risk analysis.

WONE®, AQUAmatrix, and risk-based Asset Management, complemented by strategic top-level management focused on efficiency, effectiveness, and sustainability, are pillars of EPAL’s business success.

AQUAmatrix, EPAL’s integrated management platform, is now used by many utilities in Portugal and abroad. How does this innovation fit into EPAL’s broader digital strategy, and what new opportunities has it created through partnerships or licensing?

Innovation is part of EPAL’s DNA, and the creation of products and services that drive sector development nationally and internationally is a core mission. AQUAmatrix, WONE, WattWater, and expertise in Asset and Energy Management act as internal catalysts for the company’s digital transformation.

Moreover, with a market seeking water management solutions, integrated platforms gain relevance and deliver optimal results for organisations and users. EPAL’s innovative solutions are tailored to specific areas of utility management, and partnerships with other market players are essential to offer integrated platforms. Additionally, partnerships are crucial to placing our products in new marketplaces, which are vital for growing this business segment.

Most importantly, these platforms and the relationships with their users have been highly valuable for EPAL, expanding the user base and optimising processes and outcomes.

In summary, these products have been and continue to be key to optimising the sector, with EPAL actively contributing to that progress.

Protecting water source perimeters and studying the impact of climate change on water quality maintenance are also key measures within EPAL’s Water Safety Plan.

Energy use is a key part of water operations. What steps is EPAL taking to reduce its carbon footprint, and are there goals for carbon neutrality?

In 2019, EPAL joined the UN initiative “Business Ambition for 1.5 ºC” and, in 2023, committed to Science-Based Targets aligned with the ambition to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 ºC over the next decade.

The implementation of the Energy Neutrality Program, with an investment exceeding €50 million, is part of the Águas de Portugal Group’s “ZERO Program” and forms the strategic foundation for EPAL’s carbon neutrality goal.

Innovation is part of EPAL’s DNA, and the creation of services that drive sector development nationally and internationally is a core mission

This program aims for energy neutrality by 2030 through two complementary approaches: reducing energy consumption via various energy efficiency measures and, secondly, increasing production of 100% renewable energy through investments in green electricity generation, focusing on wind, hydro, and solar power.

This Energy Neutrality Program will match the goals of reducing energy consumption and extend the lifespan of upgraded infrastructure, lower operating costs, especially electricity purchases and maintenance/replacement expenses, improve the economic and environmental sustainability of water system management, enhance operational quality through digitalised control processes and finally, achieve energy self-sufficiency, reducing dependence on market price fluctuations and national grid failures.

Looking ahead, what emerging technologies is EPAL exploring to enhance asset management and customer service? How is it addressing challenges like cybersecurity in its increasingly digital systems?

EPAL is developing a program to incorporate AI across its core areas, aiming to optimise various organisational processes and develop predictive models to improve water system operations, anticipate events, reduce energy and reagent costs, and ensure better service quality for customers.

In asset management, data is the most valuable asset. Sensorization is essential for data collection, and the development of analytical models, digital twins (hydraulic and energy), and machine learning algorithms for functional condition assessment are among the immediate needs. These technologies are already available, but their integration into organisational routines and the ability to leverage their benefits are still evolving.

Finally, what key lessons or best practices from EPAL’s recent projects would you share with other utilities?

At EPAL, we believe successful projects are those embraced by all employees, where engagement across departments adds value. Projects with strong C-level sponsorship, shared goals across teams, and measurable outcomes – regardless of tangibility – are more than halfway to success.