On 10th Januar y the ceremony laying the first stone of the project for the Marismas del Odiel water treatment plant in Huelva was held. The event was directed by the Minister for the Environment of the Autonomous Government of Andalusia, Ms Fuensanta Coves, and Gonzalo Rodríguez and José Mar tín, mayors of the towns of Punta Umbría and El Aljaraque, respectively.

As communicated at that time, on 28th May last year, the Environment Area of MP’s Engineering, Services and Environment Division, in a joint venture with Ferrovial and Cadagua, was awarded the tender to design and carry out the Marismas del Odiel project for the treatment of urban waste water: Biological treatment of the urban area (Punta Umbria, Aljaraque, El Rompido), in Huelva. The project, which was announced by the Andalusian public enterprise for environmental management, EGMASA, is for a total of 11,412,526 (+ VAT).

The WTP will be located in a highly sensitive environment, which is why it is necessary to ensure that the surrounding environment is completely protected.

The plant will have a water treatment capacity of between 13,760 m3/day for the 68,000 inhabitants estimated to be in the area during the low season, and 28,400 m3/day for the 142,000 inhabitants anticipated for the high season. The water treatment process to be installed will include the following stages: pre-treatment, adaptation of existing physical/chemical treatment, primary decanting, biological reactor, secondary decanting, ultraviolet treatment and sludge dewatering.

The WTP, which will be surrounded by the Marismas del Odiel and Los Enebrales national parks and the Laguna del Portil nature reserve, will be located in a highly sensitive environment, which is why it is necessary to ensure that the surrounding environment is completely protected during the construction, start up and operational phases of the water treatment plant. The Marismas del Odiel WTP reinforces MP’s image as a good choice for large-scale urban projects which require highly efficient solutions and which, as is the case with this project, ensure conservation and a minimal impact on the surrounding environment in such a large natural area as the estuary formed by the mouths of the Tinto and Odiel rivers.

Juan Manuel Álvarez Espada.
Manager Public Works Department