BENEJUZAR Wastewater Treatment Plant, Biel, Aragón, Spain

BENEJUZAR is a wastewater treatment plant located in Biel, a municipality in the Cinco Villas region of Zaragoza, Aragón, Spain. The plant was designed with a capacity of 17,500 m³/day and provided secondary treatment, which is the standard biological treatment required under the EU Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC) for inland agglomerations. The facility is currently closed and no longer operational. As a secondary treatment plant, BENEJUZAR would have removed organic matter and suspended solids from wastewater before discharge. The EU UWWTD mandates secondary treatment for all agglomerations above 2,000 population equivalent discharging into freshwaters or estuaries. Although the plant is closed, its design capacity suggests it served a medium-sized agglomeration, potentially exceeding the 15,000 PE threshold that triggers additional requirements in sensitive areas. The plant is situated inland, more than 50 km from the coast, and its treated effluent would have discharged into a local watercourse within the Ebro River basin. The Ebro River is one of Spain's major rivers, flowing into the Mediterranean Sea via the Ebro Delta, an ecologically important area for migratory birds and aquatic life. Possibly to a newer or consolidated facility.

The plant is located in the Ebro River basin, which drains into the Mediterranean Sea through the Ebro Delta. The delta is a key ecological zone supporting diverse aquatic life and migratory bird populations. Although the plant is closed, its historical operations would have contributed to protecting local streams and the downstream river system from untreated sewage, reducing nutrient and pathogen loads in the sensitive delta environment.