Lomas del Refugio Wastewater Treatment Plant, Palo Alto, Aguascalientes

Lomas del Refugio is a wastewater treatment plant located in Palo Alto, within the municipality of El Llano, Aguascalientes, Mexico. It serves a small population of 657 residents, reflecting its role in a rural or peri-urban setting. The plant operates under Mexico's national water regulations, which mandate treatment standards for communities of this size. The plant provides secondary treatment, a standard biological process that removes organic matter and suspended solids. With a designed capacity of 172.80 cubic meters per day and a current discharge volume of 62.21 cubic meters per day, the facility operates well below its capacity, indicating room for future growth or seasonal variations. As an inland facility, it does not discharge directly to coastal waters. The treated effluent likely enters local arroyos or drainage channels that feed into the Rio San Pedro or other tributaries of the Rio Grande de Santiago basin, ultimately draining into the Pacific Ocean. This watershed supports agricultural activities and local ecosystems, making proper treatment essential for water quality and public health.

The plant discharges into the interior basin of Aguascalientes, part of the Lerma-Santiago-Pacific hydrological region. Treated water likely flows through intermittent streams and agricultural canals before reaching the Rio San Pedro, a tributary of the Rio Grande de Santiago. This river system supports irrigation, livestock, and aquatic habitats downstream. The region's semi-arid climate means water resources are scarce, so effective wastewater treatment is critical for maintaining water quality and preventing contamination of groundwater and surface waters used for human consumption and farming.