The Cabildo de Tenerife’s Plenary has sanctioned the construction of the new wastewater treatment facility (EDAR) for the La Orotava Valley this Friday. This facility will cater to a population of 102,000 from La Orotava, Puerto de la Cruz, Los Realejos, and Santa Úrsula.
In the meeting, a loan adjustment of 13.8 million euros was approved to support the implementation of this crucial infrastructure, which has a total budget of 20.8 million euros. The remaining funding will be supplied by the Insular Council of Water of Tenerife, and the project is expected to be completed within 24 months.
Rosa Dávila, the president of the Cabildo, emphasises in a statement that this is a significant initiative that will enable the facility to initially process 10,000 cubic metres of water each day.
The water collectors that will channel these resources are already in place, and the forthcoming WWTP will enhance and expand the treatment capacity for La Orotava, Puerto de la Cruz, Los Realejos, and Santa Úrsula, she notes.
Blanca Pérez, the Minister of Natural Environment, Sustainability, Safety, and Emergencies, indicates that the plan is to expedite the awarding of contracts for the works, with contracts expected to be signed by mid-2025. Once the contracts are secured, the execution period will again be 24 months.
The new WWTP will facilitate secondary treatment with a capacity to process 10,000 cubic metres per day during its operational phase.
This design is intended to support a future second phase, which will increase the treatment capacity to 20,000 cubic metres per day, as stated by the Cabildo de Tenerife.
According to the Cabildo, the planned actions will establish an initial phase for the secondary treatment of a portion of wastewater collected from the urban area. A subsequent phase will aim to complete the station’s capacity to 20,000 cubic metres per day and convert it into a regenerative water facility.
To achieve this, the existing facilities will be demolished, allowing for the implementation of a tertiary treatment process involving reversible electrodialysis (EDR) to facilitate the use of treated water for agricultural purposes.
During the initial phase, MBR technology (Membrane Bioreactor) will be employed to process 10,000 m3 of urban wastewater from La Orotava, Puerto de la Cruz, Los Realejos, and Santa Úrsula.
The second phase will finalise wastewater treatment by adding another capacity for 10,000 m3 per day, ultimately enabling the WWTP to manage a total flow of 20,000 m3 per day.
This second phase will also incorporate tertiary treatment of the purified water using reversible electrodialysis (EDR), resulting in high-quality effluent suitable for agricultural irrigation in the northern region of the island as well as for other applications.
