Hidra is committed to the enrichment of value chains in the water service sector, with special references to water resources and environment, in conjunction with its suppliers, partners and clients. Established in 1992, Hidra had as one of the founding partners José Saldanha Matos. The main activities or business areas of the company focused on the development of studies and the design of water supply and distribution, wastewater collection and drainage systems wastewater treatment plants. Other activities, less central but associated with these, were the development of environmental impact assessment studies and hydrology and water resource planning.
In this first decade of the 21st century, the company has extended its repertoire of skills to include environmental audits, economical and financial feasibility studies, environmental evaluation studies and operation and maintenance planning of infrastructures. The company has developed its own “know-how” and has been a pioneer, in Portugal, in the development and divulgation of low cost sustainable sanitation, non-conventional drainage solutions and in the application and divulgation of dynamic simulation models to support the advance management of sanitation systems in urban areas.