Waste Water Treatment Plants

Waste Water Treatment Plants

EDAR - Estación depuradora de aguas residuale

WWTP - Waste water Treatment Plant (WWTP) (Sewage Works)

Andalucia, a region in southern Spain, has a significant network of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). These facilities play a vital role in protecting the environment and public health by treating wastewater before it is discharged into rivers, the sea or reused.

Andalucia, with its coastal areas, tourism industry, heavy rainfall and ageing infrastructure, faces significant challenges. 

Impact of tourism: Seasonal fluctuations in population due to tourism can create challenges for wastewater treatment plants, which must cope with increased loads during peak seasons.

Aging infrastructure: Some older WWTPs require upgrading or modernisation to meet current environmental standards and requirements. 

Intense rainfall: Sudden, heavy downpours are characteristic of Mediterranean storms, often overwhelming drainage systems and causing rapid water accumulation.

Coastal areas: Since the 1960s, the solution in coastal areas has been a collection sewer along the seafront or beach and a series of small pumping stations with outfall pipes extending a few km along the seabed. This raw sewage is diluted in the Mediterranean Sea and the heat and strong UV sunlight break it down much faster than in colder northern seas. However, as the population grew, this solution became inadequate, even though water samples taken regularly from the beaches rarely fail to meet acceptable levels of eColi.

A ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in 2018 against the Kingdom of Spain for failing to comply with Directive 91/271/EEC on waste water discharges has forced the central government of Spain to take action. The EU issued Directive 91/271/EEC on wastewater discharges, giving countries ten years to comply.  Andalusia and Spain largely ignored it, and finally the EU began to get tough. The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has ruled against the Kingdom of Spain on several occasions, imposing fines totalling 90 million between 2018 and 2023.  Until the 2018 this was an problem that was rarely mentioned in the media.

The fines imposed on the central government and the Junta for non-compliance at Andalusia's wastewater treatment plants are just the beginning. The administrations are paying millions of euros in fines that will not end until 2028 at the earliest. 

The 2018 ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), which led to these fines, was the result of an infringement case brought by the European Commission (EC) in 2004. In the last two years, the EC has opened two new cases against Andalusia for poor wastewater treatment. A complaint from 2022 points to 16 Andalusian agglomerations with poor water management and a second complaint, from September 2022, points to another 92 points in the Andalusian geography. In total, there are 108 black spots

In November 2024, the European Parliament and the Council of Europe approved a new regulation governing the treatment of urban wastewater. Apart from environmental protection, the new Community directive regulates the correct reuse of wastewater in anticipation of droughts. Source

Three Large Treatment Plants 

There are three large wastewater treatment plants in Andalusia that have been condemned by the EU. They are Matalascañas, Barbate and Alhaurín el Grande. The solution for the latter is the planned Malaga North treatment plant. Fines for non-compliance with environmental parameters in these three Andalusian centres amount to 6.7 million each year. The central government is responsible for the wastewater treatment plants of Barbate-Zahara de los Atunes and Matalascañas and the regional government for Malaga North. 

 

Malaga North Wastewater Treatment Plant 

The future Malaga North Wastewater Treatment Plant will serve the areas of Alhaurin el Grande, Alhaurin El Torre, Cartama and the new housing developments in the northern suburbs of the city of Malaga. 

The lack of this facility and the discharge of wastewater into the Guadalhorce River has resulted in fines from the European Union totalling more than 7.5 million euros until 2024, which will continue to face an annual fine of 2.8m euro until the project is completed. 

The capacity of the plant is 75,000 m3 per day, enough for 600,000 inhabitants, with room for future expansion to 125,000 m3 per day for 1 million inhabitants. The pre-treatment section will be built from the outset for 125k m3. 

The project was first planned in 2006 and the design and build contract was awarded to the joint venture contractors Sando/Dinotec/Aquambient in 2021 for €105 million.  However, construction has not taken place due to a number of design changes.  The 2024 budget, including additional infrastructure, is €138m. Construction could start in 2025 and optimistically be completed in 2028. 

The project is being managed by the regional government and, once completed, will be managed by EMASA (Málaga's water company), something the mayors of Alhaurin and Cartama were unhappy about as it was their sewage.    

The plant is located in the municipality of Campanillas, on the right bank of the River Guadalhorce, on the border with Alhaurin de la Torre. The residents of Vega de Mestanza have denounced the project.   

The changes include a reduction in the size of the plant, partly in response to complaints from residents. Increased capacity, minor works and the addition of tertiary treatment to produce recycled water for irrigation. The plant will produce 5,600 m3 of recycled water per hour. With future expansion, this would increase to 9,375 m3 per hour. 

The new plant will also to discharge  some water to service the current  Guadalhorce wastewater treatment plant and the sludge generated will be treated at the current Guadalhorce plant. 

Matalascañas wastewater treatment plant
The central and regional government agreed in November 2024 on the details of the works to improve and expand the Matalascañas wastewater treatment plant, which is scheduled to be completed in 2028.