How does the Punta de Mita wastewater treatment plant work?
The ADEPM visited the water treatment plant in Punta de Mita together with the Secretary General of Bahía de Banderas City; OROMAPAS, the water operator, was present and it was possible to verify the good functioning of its wastewater treatment processes and facilities that serve Punta de Mita, Corral del Rico and Emiliano Zapata.
The wastewater treatment consists of a series of physical, chemical and biological processes that aim to eliminate the contaminants present in the liquid. The moment the dirty water is discharged by the drainage; this water starts a new process to be reused. It includes three stages:
- Pretreatment – Dirty water passes through meshes or grids that serve to remove solids, that is the garbage that comes through the drainage and water sands.
- Secondary Treatment – In this stage a degradation of the biological content in the water is made. This takes place through an aeration process that promotes the growth of biological organisms which remove the organic matter from the water and greatly reduce the levels of suspended organic matter.
- Tertiary Treatment – Finally, the water goes through a disinfection and filtration process and then can be used for irrigation of green areas.
During this process, in addition to treating the water to be reused, the sludge is separated, which is the product of biological degradation. The sludge is also treated by a digestion process where it is reduced and then dehydrated and can be useful as fertilizer material.
These processes, which are carried out at the Punta de Mita Treatment Plant, were supervised and inspected. During the verification, it was gathered that each process is done in an effective way and under the stipulated norms, concluding that the plant works in full form with the quality standards required.
