SALVALEON Wastewater Treatment Plant, Salvaleón, Extremadura, Spain

SALVALEON is a wastewater treatment plant located in Salvaleón, a municipality in the Sierra Suroeste region of Badajoz, Extremadura, Spain. The plant serves a population of approximately 3,500 residents and has a designed capacity of 4,200 cubic meters per day, with a reported discharge volume of 634.37 cubic meters. It operates under Spain's implementation of the EU Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC), which requires secondary treatment for agglomerations of this size. The plant employs secondary treatment, a standard biological process that reduces organic matter and suspended solids. As a small agglomeration (under 10,000 population equivalent), it meets the directive's minimum treatment requirements. The facility is managed as part of the municipal wastewater infrastructure for Salvaleón and surrounding areas. Treated effluent is discharged into local watercourses that drain into the Guadiana River basin, eventually reaching the Gulf of Cádiz. The plant plays a key role in protecting local streams and groundwater from untreated sewage, supporting the ecological health of the region's Mediterranean-climate watershed.

The plant discharges into small streams within the Guadiana River basin, which flows southwest through Extremadura and into Portugal before reaching the Atlantic Ocean near the Gulf of Cádiz. The local watershed supports Mediterranean ecosystems with seasonal rivers and agricultural lands. The treatment plant helps prevent nutrient pollution and pathogen contamination in these water bodies, which are important for irrigation and biodiversity.