Villaconejos Wastewater Treatment Plant: Serving Urtajo - Balcón del Tajo, Spain

The Villaconejos wastewater treatment plant is located in the municipality of Villaconejos, within the Comunidad de Madrid, Spain. It serves the Urtajo - Balcón del Tajo area, treating wastewater from a population of approximately 6,749 residents. The plant operates under Spain's implementation of the EU Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC), which sets standards for wastewater treatment across member states. As a secondary treatment facility, Villaconejos employs biological processes to reduce organic matter and suspended solids, meeting the directive's requirements for agglomerations of this size. The plant has a designed capacity of 4,340 cubic meters per day and currently discharges an average volume of 975.41 cubic meters per day, indicating operational capacity well within design limits. The treated effluent 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 help protect downstream water quality and aquatic ecosystems in this important river system.

The Villaconejos plant discharges into the Tagus River basin, which flows through central Spain and into Portugal, eventually reaching the Atlantic Ocean. The Tagus River supports diverse aquatic life and provides water for agriculture and urban areas. The plant's secondary treatment reduces organic pollutants and nutrients, helping to maintain the ecological health of the river and its downstream environments.