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El Port de la Selva

El Port de la Selva

Soil-aquifer treatment to reclaim water for indirect potable reuse
El Port de la Selva

El Port de la Selva

Soil-aquifer treatment to reclaim water for indirect potable reuse

El Port de la Selva

El Port de la Selva

Soil-aquifer treatment to reclaim water for indirect potable reuse

El Port de la Selva

El Port de la Selva site is located in the very north-eastern part of Catalonia (Spain) at the Mediterranean coast. The plant is operated by the mixed enterprise Aigues de la Costa Brava. The municipal WWTP has a capacity of 10500 p.e. and has received European Structural Funds of its refurbishment in 1997.

Water is reused for urban and recreational applications and envisaged to be extended to indirect potable reuse via aquifer recharge;

High seasonal variation in demand due to tourism puts a pressure on conventional drinking water resources. Whilst in summer reclaimed water can be used directly for urban uses and golf course irrigation the effluent is supposed to recharge the local aquifer that is used for potable supply and further uses during winter.

The tertiary treatment is designed for a flow of 25 m³/day and consists of pre-coagulation, double filtration (sand/anthracite filters), UV disinfection and residual chlorination. Resulting water quality complies with Spanish legislative requirements for municipal urban uses. The criteria for aquifer recharge by means of infiltration are only met during low season, when due to reduced load the WWTP is capable of denitrification.

In DEMOWARE, the site will be the first demonstration in Europe targeting indirect potable reuse and aquifer recharge without expensive double membrane systems. Instead a hybrid and low cost / low energy filtration/disinfection reuse scheme for aquifer recharge will be established and thoroughly tested. This will include:

  • Technical performance
  • Public acceptance
  • Cost benefit estimation through risk assessment (RA) and life-cycle assesment (LCA)