Overview
Los Itzicuaros wastewater treatment plant serves approximately 89,447 people in Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico. The facility operates under Mexican water quality regulations for inland discharge.
Los Itzicuaros is a municipal wastewater treatment plant located in Morelia, the capital city of Michoacán, Mexico. Serving an estimated population of 89,447, the plant is part of the city's sanitation infrastructure, handling wastewater from residential and commercial sources. As a medium-to-large agglomeration, the plant is expected to meet Mexican official standards (NOM-001-SEMARNAT-1996 and subsequent updates) for wastewater discharge, which set limits on pollutants such as biochemical oxygen demand, total suspended solids, and pathogens. The treated effluent is discharged into the local watershed, which ultimately drains into the Lerma River basin, a major hydrological system in central Mexico. The Lerma River flows westward to Lake Chapala, Mexico's largest freshwater lake, which supports diverse aquatic life and provides water for irrigation and human consumption.
Environmental context
The plant's discharge enters the Lerma River basin, which flows into Lake Chapala, a critical freshwater resource for the region. Lake Chapala supports a variety of fish species and migratory birds, making it ecologically sensitive. The watershed also supplies water for agriculture and urban use downstream, emphasizing the importance of effective wastewater treatment to prevent eutrophication and contamination.
Frequently asked questions
Los Itzicuaros is located at 504 Calle Bartolomé de las Casas in Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico.
The plant serves approximately 89,447 people in the Morelia area.
The treated effluent is discharged into the local watershed, which drains into the Lerma River basin and ultimately reaches Lake Chapala.
The plant operates under Mexican federal regulations, primarily NOM-001-SEMARNAT-1996, which sets discharge limits for pollutants to protect water quality.
For agglomerations of this size, Mexican standards generally require secondary treatment, including biological processes to reduce organic matter and suspended solids, to meet discharge limits.
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