Veolia and consortium partners turn Spanish desalination facility operational in Almeria

Veolia Water Technologies and its partners in the Campo Dalías consortium have started operations for the Campo de Dalías seawater reverse osmosis desalination plant in Almeria, Spain.

The firm had been involved in the project through its Spanish unit, and had delivered the process components for the facility.

The project was promoted by the Spanish Ministry for Agriculture, Food and Environment through Water Spanish Society ACUAMED.

Spanish firms including Sando, Inypsa and Montajes Electricos Crescencio Perez were responsible for the construction, civil engineering and management of the desalination plant.

Located in the western part of the Andalusian province of Almeria in the south of the country, the facility has been developed with a total investment of around €130m.

Presently, it has a capacity to produce 97,200m³ of water per day, which can be expanded to supply 129,600m³/d to meet future demands.

Veolia Water Technologies Spain and its consortium partners will also be responsible for the operation of the facility for 15 years starting from November 2015.

The consortium had completed construction of the plant in November last year, which will deliver potable water for around 300,000 people and allow irrigation of 8,000ha land.

Campo de Dalías facility has been equipped with 12,810 membranes, 41 km of distribution pipelines, control instruments and over 3,000 pieces of electromechanical equipment.

It is expected to facilitate use of available water resources in the region which was previously neglected due to saline content. This will allow natural regeneration of the aquifers and avoid their agricultural overexploitation.

Veolia Water Technologies (Spain and Portugal) managing director José Ángel Legaz said: "The Campo Dalías desalination plant represents an important reference for Veolia and proves the capacity of the Spanish team to design, construct and operate big size projects.

"Since last July, the plant has been providing water for agriculture and it will be operating at full capacity as of November to supply water to this water-scarce region of Spain."

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Image: The €130m plant has the capacity to generate 97,200m³/d of water. Photo: courtesy of Veolia.