Overview
Santarem wastewater treatment plant serves the city of Santarém, Portugal, with a population equivalent of 40,000. It operates under the EU Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive, ensuring compliance with European standards.
The Santarem wastewater treatment plant is located in Santarém, Portugal, and serves a population of approximately 40,000 people. As a municipal facility in the Tagus River basin, it plays a key role in managing wastewater from the urban area. Under the EU Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC), plants serving agglomerations between 10,000 and 150,000 population equivalent are required to provide secondary treatment as a minimum. Santarem falls into this category, and its operations are expected to meet these standards to protect water quality. The treated effluent is discharged into the local watershed, which ultimately drains into the Tagus River and then into the Atlantic Ocean near Lisbon. The plant's location inland, over 50 km from the coast, reduces direct marine impact, but its discharge contributes to the overall health of the Tagus estuary ecosystem.
Environmental context
The Santarem plant discharges into the Tagus River basin, which flows southwest to the Atlantic Ocean via the Tagus estuary near Lisbon. This estuary is a vital ecological zone supporting diverse aquatic life, including migratory fish species. The plant's treatment performance is critical to maintaining water quality in this downstream environment, which is subject to both urban and agricultural pressures.
Frequently asked questions
The Santarem plant is located in the city of Santarém, Portugal, in the Tagus River basin.
The plant serves a population equivalent of approximately 40,000 people.
The treated effluent is discharged into the local watershed, which flows into the Tagus River and eventually reaches the Atlantic Ocean.
As a plant serving an agglomeration of 40,000 people, it falls under the EU Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive, which requires secondary treatment as a minimum standard.
Under the EU Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive, plants serving between 10,000 and 150,000 population equivalent are required to provide secondary treatment, which is the standard for facilities of this scale.
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