Canal de Isabel II allocates 9.4 million to the operation and maintenance of Sur WWTP, the largest in the region

The Sur WWTP wastewater treatment plant is one of the best examples of resource use and circular economy in the Autonomous Community of Madrid

• In 2019, the treatment plant produced electricity equivalent to the consumption of a population like Humanes

• This facility can treat up to half a million cubic metres of wastewater from Madrid city every day

30AUG2020-The Governing Council of the Autonomous Community of Madrid was informed of the proposed award by Canal de Isabel II of the contract for the operation and maintenance services of the Sur wastewater treatment plant, located in the municipality of Getafe and which treats wastewater from the city of Madrid. The contract has been awarded for a total amount of 9,422,085.68 euros (excluding VAT), and has a duration of one year and three months, to which an extension of an additional year may be added.   

The Sur WWTP is the largest in the Autonomous Community of Madrid. The facility is owned by the City Council of Madrid, but since 2006 the management of these infrastructures and the rest of the treatment plants owned by the City Council is entrusted to Canal de Isabel II.  Belonging to the Manzanares Basin, it was built in 1983 and has the capacity to eliminate the polluting load produced by a population equivalent to almost 3 million people. It serves the districts of Vicálvaro and Puente and Villa de Vallecas, but also serves as a reservoir and support for treating wastewater from other facilities in the same basin.

CIRCULAR ECONOMY: REVALUATION AND USE
This plant is one of the best examples of commitment to the circular economy in the Autonomous Community of Madrid, since it is able to be electrically self-sufficient from only the people of Madrid’s liquid waste, which it receives and manages. On the one hand, it is equipped to generate renewable and green energy from the biogas produced in the sludge digestion processes, and on the other hand, it has a mini-hydroelectric plant that processes the already treated water before discharging it into the Manzanares River. 

Thanks to these two facilities, which directly use the wastewater and its energy potential, the plant produced more than 25,600 megawatt hours (MWh) of renewable electrical energy in 2019. Through these processes, which help to reduce the carbon footprint of its facilities, promote the circular economy and contribute to the fight against climate change, last year the plant generated 25,329 MWh, enough electrical energy to supply a population of nearly 20,000 inhabitants, such as that of Humanes.  
 

PRODUCTION OF HIGH QUALITY FERTILISER
Furthermore, the Sur WWTP has the largest phosphorus recovery plant in Spain, in the form of struvite, a compound with fertilising capacities much greater than traditional fertilisers in certain aspects. The phosphorous production at this facility in 2019, 484,000 kilograms, would meet the phosphorus demand of more than 30 golf courses.  

Canal de Isabel II was founded more than 165 years ago to supply water to the city of Madrid. Today, its more than 2,800 employees provide a service to over 6 million people in the region. It is an innovative, entirely public company, a leader in its sector, and internationally recognised for its management of the integrated water cycle. 

It operates 13 reservoirs; 78 spring tapings; 14 drinking water treatment plants; 17,651 kilometres of conveyance and distribution channels; 131 pumping stations for drinking water and 133 for waste water; 15,317 kilometres of sewage networks; 65 storm tanks; 157 waste water treatment stations; and 651 kilometres of regenerated water channels.