BIAR Wastewater Treatment Plant, Biar, Comunitat Valenciana, Spain

The BIAR wastewater treatment plant is located in Biar, a municipality in the Comunitat Valenciana region of eastern Spain. The facility provides advanced treatment to serve a population of approximately 4,349 residents, reflecting the town's scale within the inland Alto Vinalopó comarca. As an advanced treatment plant, BIAR goes beyond secondary biological processes to remove nutrients and other pollutants, meeting stringent discharge standards. With a designed capacity of 15,000 m³/day and an actual discharge volume of 738.88 m³/day, the plant operates well below its capacity, indicating room for future growth or seasonal variations. The plant operates under Spain's implementation of the EU Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC), which mandates appropriate treatment levels based on receiving water sensitivity and population size. The treated effluent is discharged into local watercourses that drain into the Vinalopó River basin, eventually reaching the Mediterranean Sea. The plant plays a key role in protecting the region's water resources and supporting the ecological health of downstream aquatic environments, including irrigated agriculture and natural habitats.

The BIAR plant discharges into the Vinalopó River basin, which flows through the Comunitat Valenciana and ultimately reaches the Mediterranean Sea near Santa Pola. The region's semi-arid climate makes water resources particularly sensitive, and the advanced treatment helps protect downstream ecosystems, including coastal wetlands and marine habitats that support diverse aquatic life and migratory birds.