Campestre Wastewater Treatment Plant, Celaya, Guanajuato, Mexico

Campestre is a wastewater treatment plant located in Celaya, Guanajuato, Mexico, serving a population of about 9,127. The plant provides secondary treatment, which is a standard biological process that removes organic matter and suspended solids, meeting the basic requirements for municipal wastewater treatment in Mexico. With a designed capacity of 1,728.00 volume units and an actual discharge volume of 864.00, the plant operates at half its capacity. Under Mexican regulations (NOM-001-SEMARNAT-1996 and subsequent updates), secondary treatment is typically required for discharges into national waters, ensuring compliance with maximum permissible limits for pollutants. The treated effluent is discharged into the local watershed, which ultimately drains into the Lerma River basin, a major river system that flows into Lake Chapala, Mexico's largest freshwater lake. This water body supports diverse aquatic life and provides water for irrigation and human consumption downstream.

The plant's discharge enters the Lerma River basin, which flows into Lake Chapala, a critical freshwater resource in central Mexico. The lake supports a variety of fish species and migratory birds, and its ecological health is sensitive to nutrient loading from upstream sources. Secondary treatment helps reduce organic pollution, but advanced nutrient removal may be needed to protect the lake from eutrophication.