Buenavista Wastewater Treatment Plant, Colima, Mexico

The Buenavista wastewater treatment plant is located in the town of Buenavista, within the municipality of Cuauhtémoc, Colima, Mexico. It serves a population of 919 residents, making it a small-scale facility focused on local domestic wastewater management. The plant operates under Mexico's national water regulations, which require secondary treatment for communities of this size to protect public health and the environment. The plant provides secondary treatment, a standard biological process that removes organic matter and suspended solids. It has a designed capacity of 345.60 m³/day and currently discharges an average of 293.76 m³/day of treated effluent. Secondary treatment typically involves activated sludge or similar biological systems, ensuring compliance with Mexican discharge standards (NOM-001-SEMARNAT). The treated effluent is discharged into local watercourses that eventually drain into the Pacific Ocean via the Armería River basin. The region's hydrology supports agricultural activities and diverse ecosystems. Proper wastewater treatment is essential to prevent nutrient pollution and protect downstream water quality in this semi-arid coastal area of Colima.

The plant's treated effluent flows into local streams that are part of the Armería River basin, which drains into the Pacific Ocean near the coast of Colima. This watershed supports agricultural irrigation and provides habitat for aquatic species. The region experiences a tropical wet-dry climate, and maintaining low nutrient loads in the discharge is important to prevent eutrophication in downstream water bodies and coastal zones.