Águas do Ribatejo launched public tenders for the rehabilitation of the wastewater treatment plants (ETAR) in Benfica do Ribatejo, Muge and Glória do Ribatejo, in a total investment of around six million euros.
In statements to Lusa, the general director of Águas do Ribatejo, Miguel Carrinho, stated today that the three projects are part of a broader investment plan aimed at ensuring “the quality of the service provided to about 140,000 people served by the company and improving the environmental performance of the sanitation systems.”
“They are absolutely fundamental investments to continue enabling Águas do Ribatejo to collect and properly treat the wastewater produced in those locations,” he stated.
According to the official, the three infrastructures have already been operating for several decades and, although they have undergone occasional interventions over the years, they now require deep works to respond to “the current and future requirements in wastewater treatment.”
In the case of the Benfica do Ribatejo ETAR, in the municipality of Almeirim, Miguel Carrinho explained that the installation, built before the creation of Águas do Ribatejo, could no longer adequately respond to the increase in flows resulting from the expansion of the locality’s sewer network.
“What we call a rehabilitation will, in practice, amount to having almost a completely new installation adapted to today’s demands,” he stated.
Regarding the Muge ETAR, in the municipality of Salvaterra de Magos, the general director explained that the current technology presents limitations, notably in the disinfection of the effluents. The official also noted that the discharge location into the Tagus River, near zones considered hydrologically sensitive, obliges the introduction of new treatment processes.
The Glória do Ribatejo ETAR faces similar difficulties, arising from the age of the infrastructure and the need to adapt to environmental standards more stringent than those in place when it was built.
For Miguel Carrinho, these investments take on particular relevance at a time when the new European directive on urban wastewater comes into force, which imposes new requirements on the sector and obliges the managing entities to reinforce the levels of treatment and environmental control.
“We have here an added challenge in this area, arising from the entry into force of the new European Directive on Urban Wastewaters,” he stated, adding that the new rules will require the mobilization of “very significant financial resources.”
The three projects were submitted for European funding under the Sustainable 2030 program, support that the official considers decisive for the realization of the works.
“We are talking about an amount on the order of six million euros, which is a very significant amount for a managing entity of our size,” he said.
Asked about the expected deadlines, Miguel Carrinho indicated that the works should take place between about a year and a half and just over two years, depending on the complexity of each intervention, with the company seeking to set realistic calendars.
The general director also stressed that, although the investments have a direct impact on the localities covered, the benefits will extend regionally, since the improvement of wastewater treatment contributes to the overall quality of the region’s water masses.
“These are very important projects for the region,” he said, defending that the improvement in the quality of effluent treatment will have positive effects on the protection of the water resources of the Lezíria do Tejo.
Águas do Ribatejo, an intermunicipal company serving about 140 thousand inhabitants in seven municipalities of the Lezíria do Tejo, is responsible for the management of the region’s water supply and sanitation systems.
