Piñones Wastewater Treatment Plant, San Agustín de Piñones, Chihuahua

Piñones is a wastewater treatment plant located in San Agustín de Piñones, within the municipality of Riva Palacio, Chihuahua, Mexico. The plant serves a small population of 75 people, reflecting its role in a rural or peri-urban setting. It operates with secondary treatment, which is appropriate for the scale of the community. The plant has a designed capacity of 43.20 m³/day and currently discharges 25.92 m³/day of treated wastewater. Under Mexico's federal water law (Ley de Aguas Nacionales) and NOM-001-SEMARNAT-1996, secondary treatment is the standard for municipal wastewater to protect water quality. The plant's operation is overseen by the National Water Commission (CONAGUA) and likely by local water authorities. The treated effluent is discharged into the local watershed, which ultimately drains into the Pacific Ocean via the Río Conchos and Río Bravo (Rio Grande) systems. The region's semi-arid climate makes water reuse and quality protection critical for downstream ecosystems and agricultural users. The plant helps reduce pollution loads in a water-scarce area.

The plant's discharge enters the local drainage network, which flows into the Río Conchos, a major tributary of the Rio Grande (Río Bravo). This river system supports diverse aquatic life and provides irrigation water for agriculture in Chihuahua. Downstream, the Rio Grande forms the border with the United States and empties into the Gulf of Mexico. The semi-arid climate means that maintaining water quality is essential for both ecological health and human use, including drinking water supplies for downstream communities.