Sandovales Wastewater Treatment Plant, El Llano, Aguascalientes

The Sandovales wastewater treatment plant is located in the municipality of El Llano, Aguascalientes, Mexico. It serves a small community of 1,225 people, reflecting its role in managing domestic wastewater for a rural or peri-urban area. The plant operates with secondary treatment, which is the standard biological treatment level required under Mexican regulations (NOM-001-SEMARNAT-1996) for municipal wastewater. With a designed capacity of 172.80 cubic meters per day and an actual discharge volume of 224.64 cubic meters per day, the facility is operating above its nominal capacity, indicating potential stress on the treatment system. The treated effluent is discharged into local water bodies that ultimately drain into the Rio Grande de Santiago basin, which flows westward through Jalisco and into the Pacific Ocean. This watershed supports agricultural activities and provides water for downstream communities, making proper treatment essential for protecting water quality and aquatic ecosystems.

The plant's discharge contributes to the Rio Grande de Santiago basin, which drains into the Pacific Ocean via the Santiago River. This watershed is ecologically important, supporting diverse aquatic life and providing irrigation water for agriculture in the region. Proper secondary treatment helps reduce organic pollutants and nutrients that could otherwise cause eutrophication in downstream reservoirs and coastal areas.