Águas do Norte deepens investment in wastewater treatment


In May, Águas do Norte concluded a significant investment project for boosting the treatment of wastewaters across the municipalities of Amarante and Esposende.

In Amarante, the Vila Meã Wastewater Treatment Plant (WTP) was inaugurated following investment in the region of around €2.66 million and making up one section of the infrastructures necessary to resolving many of the problems experienced with the drainage and treatment of wastewaters in this municipality.

In Esposende, two new WTPs entered into service: the Esposende WTP, involving investment of approximately €4.85 million and scaled to deal with around 6,750 m³/ day of domestically produced wastewaters and with a capacity to serve a population of around 40,000 inhabitants - equivalent to the population (in the summer season) in this municipality; and the Marinhas WTP, involving investment of about €3.79 million and designed to serve a population of around 23,000 equivalent inhabitants (in the summer season).

The entrance into operation of these new infrastructures shall allow for the deactivation of existing WTPs that have been running since the 1980s and were operating at sub-optimal levels and with outdated treatment capacity levels. Hence, the new investments will result in significant improvements to the quality of effluents discharged into the surrounding environment with a positive impact on the quality of the streams, rivers and hydrographic basins existing in the field of intervention spanning those municipalities, especially the river Cávado and the Tâmega hydrographic basin.

All of these projects received co-financing from the European Union through the Thematic Operational Program for Territorial Improvements under the QREN structural funding program.

The total of investment made over the last two decades in the multi-municipal sanitation system managed by Águas do Norte ascends to around €566 million, with the bulk applied to constructing and improving WTPs. Through to 2020, this investment is expected to be further strengthened by another €61 million.


17 of June of 2016