URDA Wastewater Treatment Plant, Urda, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain

URDA is a wastewater treatment plant located in Urda, a town in the province of Toledo, within the autonomous community of Castilla-La Mancha, Spain. The plant serves a population of about 8,169 residents, classifying it as a small to medium agglomeration under European Union classifications. The plant provides secondary treatment, which is the standard biological treatment required by the EU Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC) for inland freshwater discharges from agglomerations of this size. The directive mandates secondary treatment for all discharges from agglomerations with a population equivalent (PE) above 2,000, ensuring organic matter and suspended solids are significantly reduced. The treated effluent from URDA is discharged into the local watershed, which ultimately drains into the Tagus River basin. The Tagus River is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula, flowing through Spain and Portugal before reaching the Atlantic Ocean near Lisbon. The plant's operations contribute to protecting the water quality of this important river system and its downstream ecosystems.

The URDA plant discharges into the Tagus River basin, which flows through central Spain and Portugal to the Atlantic Ocean. The Tagus supports diverse aquatic life and is a vital water resource for agriculture and urban areas. The plant's secondary treatment helps reduce organic pollution and protect the river's ecological health, particularly in the sensitive Mediterranean climate region.