Overview
El Milagro wastewater treatment plant in Querétaro, Mexico, provides secondary treatment for a small community of 1,369 people, discharging 129.60 cubic meters of treated effluent daily.
El Milagro is a municipal wastewater treatment plant located in the town of El Milagro, within the municipality of Huimilpan, Querétaro, Mexico. It serves a small population of 1,369 residents, reflecting its role in a rural or peri-urban setting. The plant is situated in the central highlands of Mexico, an area characterized by semi-arid climate and seasonal rainfall. The facility operates with secondary treatment, which is the standard biological process for removing organic matter and suspended solids. Its designed capacity and actual discharge volume are both 129.60 cubic meters per day, indicating full utilization. Under Mexican regulations (NOM-001-SEMARNAT-1996 and subsequent updates), secondary treatment is appropriate for communities of this size, ensuring compliance with discharge standards for receiving waters. The treated effluent is discharged into local watercourses that ultimately drain into the Pánuco River basin, which flows to the Gulf of Mexico. The plant plays a critical role in protecting downstream water quality and preventing untreated sewage from impacting the region's aquatic ecosystems and groundwater resources.
Environmental context
The plant discharges into the Pánuco River basin, one of Mexico's major hydrological systems, which flows northeast to the Gulf of Mexico. This watershed supports diverse aquatic life and provides water for agriculture and human consumption. The semi-arid climate of Querétaro means that water resources are particularly sensitive to pollution, making the plant's secondary treatment essential for maintaining ecological balance and preventing eutrophication in downstream reservoirs and coastal zones.
Frequently asked questions
El Milagro WWTP is located in the town of El Milagro, within the municipality of Huimilpan, in the state of Querétaro, Mexico. The full address is Calle Francisco I. Madero, El Milagro, Huimilpan, Querétaro, 76973.
The plant serves a population of 1,369 people, making it a small-scale facility designed for a rural community.
The plant discharges treated effluent into local watercourses that are part of the Pánuco River basin, which ultimately flows to the Gulf of Mexico. The discharge volume is 129.60 cubic meters per day.
The plant provides secondary treatment, which involves biological processes to remove organic matter and suspended solids. This meets the standard required under Mexican regulations for communities of this size.
The plant operates under Mexican environmental standards, primarily NOM-001-SEMARNAT-1996, which sets maximum permissible limits for pollutants in wastewater discharges. For small communities, secondary treatment is typically sufficient to comply with these standards.
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