Race against time repair to clean up the water on the Costa Brava

GironaAfter the Harry storm in January, which flooded the riverbeds and streams of the Baix Empordà, the Palamós EDAR wastewater treatment plant became completely unusable. Electrical installations, pumps, motors, and laboratories, submerged under two meters of water and mud, were completely damaged. 187 l/m² fell. The Aubi stream, next to the plant, overflowed, and workers had to swim out. Total disaster. Since then, the Consorci d'Aigües Costa Brava Girona, belonging to the Diputació, which is responsible for the infrastructure, has been working against the clock to repair the damage and bring the machinery back into operation. The objective is clear: to have everything ready to face the summer campaign with guarantees. The priority is maximum, as it is a key infrastructure for cleaning the wastewater from the coastal towns of the Baix Empordà. An area that, from Sant Joan onwards, significantly increases the number of visitors and residents.

that will flood the riverbeds and streams of Baix Empordà

Since the damage from the storm, the plant has been operating at minimum capacity with the supply of an electric generator. During these first few months, the only available equipment that could be put into operation has been the pre-treatment unit, which separates solids from liquids. This has caused the water to be discharged into the sea for several weeks with less cleaning quality than usual, but with minimum standards of sanitation. Furthermore, the evacuation channel to the sea was also damaged halfway by the rains, so the discharge in this emergency situation is exceptionally done closer to the coast.

Preserving the quality of the beach

"The repair of the treatment plant before the summer season was key due to its size, it is a strategic infrastructure in the sanitation system of Baix Empordà", explains Miquel Noguer, president of the Diputació de Girona and the Consortium, to ARA. And he adds: "The urgency was also marked by the proximity of spaces of great ecological and landscape value such as Cala Castell beach, the Formigues islands and the Castell-Cap Roig Protected Natural Area. Ensuring the complete operation of the treatment plant before summer was essential to preserve the quality of the bathing waters". The president also explains that the reform has been "integral, from top to bottom", and with "cut" deadlines to be able to cope in time with the increase in flow, "when it goes from treating 15,000 m³/day in winter to 25,000 m³/day". 

To meet the deadlines, it has taken five months of intense work (which is still ongoing) and an investment of  3.6 million euros, from extraordinary funds from the Catalan Water Agency (ACA). The repair is being carried out in phases: after years of evaluation and removal of all sludge, the action was taken to restore the electrical supply and put the primary clarifiers into operation. This task was completed over the weekend and will allow the amount of pollutants discharged to be reduced by approximately 40%.  Then, in a second phase, it will be necessary to restore the biological treatment and secondary clarification, planned for June, which should place the reduction of suspended matter at around 95%.

In parallel, the Provincial Council is working to repair the submarine outfall that discharges onto Castell beach. Specifically, it is at a point 634 metres from the coast and at a depth of 23 metres. A custom-made part has had to be ordered from Denmark, which will arrive at the beginning of June, and a team of divers will place it underwater.