Pontevel Wastewater Treatment Plant, Cartaxo, Portugal

Pontevel wastewater treatment plant is located in the parish of Pontével, within the municipality of Cartaxo in the Santarém District of Portugal. The facility serves a population of approximately 2,300 people, placing it in the small agglomeration category under Portuguese and EU regulations. The plant provides secondary treatment, which is the standard required by the EU Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC) for agglomerations of this size discharging into freshwater or estuaries. The designed capacity is 2,300 cubic meters per day, and the current discharge volume is 383.48 cubic meters per day, indicating operational headroom. The treated effluent is discharged into the local watershed, which ultimately drains into the Tagus River basin. The Tagus River is one of the longest rivers in the Iberian Peninsula, flowing through Portugal and Spain before reaching the Atlantic Ocean near Lisbon. The plant's operations help protect downstream water quality and aquatic ecosystems.

The plant's discharge enters the Tagus River basin, which flows southwest through central Portugal and empties into the Atlantic Ocean at the Tagus Estuary near Lisbon. This estuary is an ecologically important area supporting diverse bird populations and fish species. The secondary treatment provided by the plant reduces organic load and suspended solids, helping to maintain water quality in the river and downstream coastal environment.