«A day of great satisfaction»: this was the dominant note in the speech of the mayors present at the ceremony to lay the foundation stone of the new Waste Water Treatment Plant in Faro-Olhao. It fell to Carlos Manuel Martins, Secretary of State for the Environment – and former chairman of the Board of Directors of Águas do Algarve – to lay the first three bricks of a project that should be ready by the end of 2018.
The new WWTP, located next to the Ria Formosa, will serve 113 inhabitants of the municipalities of Faro, Olhão and São Brás de Alportel, cost close to 22 million euros and use innovative technology, which Carlos Manuel Martins even helped to develop.
«This WWTP will use a technology that I myself, as president of Sintejo, promoted in a process of research and development and which has already given such good evidence, more at an international level than at a national level. This is the work of great importance, made from scratch, which will use this technology, after the pilot study that was carried out at the WWTP in Frielas».
According to Carlos Manuel Martins, «the technological solution that existed here depended a lot on nature, because human intervention in management and operation was of a very low level. If there was a more troubled situation, there were few mechanisms to respond quickly to those circumstances. What we are going to do here is a more industrialized process, either physically, chemically or mechanically, with the capacity for human intervention, so that, at the right moment, we can correct any situation that arises, as is typical in the Algarve : seasonality'.
The Secretary of State added that this new WWTP will allow treatment of "greater loads, a greater flow", also giving greater guarantees of the quality of the water discharged at the end of the process. “We are talking about a much more sophisticated, capable and flexible system”, he guaranteed.
The importance of this work was highlighted in particular by the mayors of the municipalities that will use it. Teresa Correia, Councilor of the Chamber of Faro, says that the new WWTP comes to «solve a problem that has been degrading for years and years. The Ria Formosa was under threat due to a problem that was lingering and needed to be resolved».
António Pina, mayor of Olhão, considered this a «day of great satisfaction for everyone, in particular for lovers of the Ria Formosa». The mayor highlighted the role of Carlos Manuel Martins in the launch of the work, since, when the process was launched, he was the chairman of the Board of Directors of the company Águas do Algarve: «the merit of the decision lies with you and for will always be linked to this decision'.
Vítor Guerreiro, mayor of São Brás de Alportel, said that this was "an important moment for the Algarve" and that it allows for a "cleaner, more desirable and better for everyone" region.
Watch the video with the 3D images of the future WWTP Faro/Olhão (video provided by Águas do Algarve):
Or see the 3D images of the future WWTP:
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