Águas do Algarve has worked out that its new sewage treatment plant, currently being constructed between Olhão and Faro, will not be able to work at peak efficiency if the various pumping stations that shove effluent its way are liable to malfunction.
With this in mind, the region’s water and sewage company has finalised a contract to renovate the seven Sewage Pumping Stations in Faro and Olhão at a cost of €3.8 million.
The need to attend to these ancient stations is urgent as the machinery has been pumping away for decades and is in an “advanced state of degradation.”
The units to be renovated in this welcome project are as follows: in the municipality of Faro - Estação Elevatória da EVA, Estação Elevatória Bombeiros; Estação Elevatória de São Francisco; Estação Elevatória Ferragial; Estação Elevatória Final Lavadeiras; and in the Olhão council area - Estação Elevatória 11 de Março and the Estação Elevatória do Mercado.
The last one, in Olhão, currently shoves out foul smelling air, laden with bacteria, across cafes and bars in the fish market area, leaving tourists wondering how the council can promote its city as tourist friendly when simultaneously accepting a sewage pumping station 20 metres from where food is being served in, what was meant to be, the fresh air.
The original equipment was all part of the Multimunicipal System of Sanitation for the Algarve with the Faro pumping stations starting operation in 1999.
The decrepit machinery in the municipality of Olhão started its work in 1991 - 27 years ago.
The refurbished sewage pumping stations will allow a smooth flow of effluent to the new Faro-Olhão Wastewater Treatment Plant where it will undergo state of the art processes.
One good aspect of the refurbishment is the contractual insistence that foul smells be dealt with - “the optimisation of the deodorisation system to solve existing problems and recurring complaints,” is specified.
Other work includes the replacement of obsolete and deteriorated equipment that causes stoppages in the system and discharges in water sources and the Ria Formosa; optimisation of the harrowing system with the installation of new grids with reduced mesh; installation of an emergency generator to ensure the continuity of the service provided; replacement of existing electrical panels, which are outdated and deteriorated by use and environment; replacement of lifting equipment; interconnection of the installations via remote management and a lick of paint.
The work has been awarded to a specialist company, Aquino Construções, SA, from Ourém near Fátima, which has a year to get the job done.
Águas do Algarve said that work will not start in Olhão before September 30th, due to tourists as the market pumping station is, as the name would suggest, right next to the iconic fish market.
Work will start right away at Estação Elevatória Ferragial and Estação Elevatória Final Lavadeiras in Faro.
The stink will not be eradicated in Olhão as raw sewage continues to flow into the Ria Formosa near the ferry ticket office, among other places, and the vast sewage-filled pond to the west of the city will continue to cause nasal offence until the new Faro-Olhão treatment plant is opened and the sewage pond 'turned into a bird reserve,' according to the local mayor.
Treatment plant under construction between Olhão and Faro
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