As s global deficit in freshwater looms, utilities in water-scarce regions worldwide have been working to manage this critical resource for years. The job is far from static: growing cities, decreasing rainfall, changing water treatment needs, and aging infrastructure are just a few of the constraints utilities face as they develop and preserve fresh water supply. Water utilities and their partners are using Rockwell systems to develop and upgrade operational capacities to optimize water resource management.
In Morocco, 13 desalination plants are being constructed by 2030 to support the nation’s water security. One of the largest desalination plants in Africa—and the largest powered entirely by renewable energy—will come online in 2027. Ferri Systems is the main electrical contractor for the new plant’s 16 motor control centers and main switchboards. The Spanish contractor is working with Rockwell and its CUBIC acquisition to meet the project’s high-performance specifications.
The CUBIC panels’ small footprint contributes to lower energy consumption and reduces assembly time. Our participation with temperature rise calculation for the panels also helps ensure energy efficiency. By combining our core technology with new CUBIC offerings, we’re supporting Ferri Systems from pre-design through engineering and supervision of final assembly.
San Bernadino, California is another water-stressed region, and there, seven municipalities participate in the Inland Empire Utility Agency (IEUA), a Lighthouse for the water industry. IEUA’s end-to-end water services include importing water, wastewater treatment, recycling water, groundwater recharging, renewable energy generation, and composting. When the agency needed to expand operations at one of its five facilities and bring a new biosolids facility online, it standardized on Rockwell automation solutions, including PlantPAx® Distributed Control System. With the move, IEUA increased water treatment capacity and efficiency without changing its staffing resources. In FY25, IEUA began expansion of another facility using Rockwell’s automation systems. With the upgrade, the facility will be able to treat up to 44 million gallons of water per day.
Discover additional sustainability stories by reading the Rockwell Automation 2025 Sustainability Report.
