Por Redaccion 
The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, Ramón Fernández-Pacheco, has inaugurated the Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) and the sewerage system of the municipality of Porcuna in Jaén, an initiative in which the Andalusian Government has invested 6.6 million euros and has been handed over to the Town Hall of the locality.
During his speech, the Minister highlighted that this infrastructure represents a response to a legal and environmental need because the wastewater from this locality was being discharged into different water bodies without any treatment, «causing harm to the environment and non-compliance with the European directive on water.»
The nearly 6,000 residents of Porcuna now have a treatment plant equipped with the latest technologies, with the capacity to treat water for double the current population, fulfilling a long-standing demand of the municipality. The project was declared of community interest in 2010, 15 years ago, and was financed through water fees.
Fernández-Pacheco pointed out that these works were «much needed for the agricultural sector itself» and emphasized that the Andalusian Government has completed a total of 24 hydraulic purification projects in the province since 2019, declared of community interest, compared to the two executed between 2010 and 2018.
18 projects under construction worth 57 million euros
Among the 24 completed purification projects are those carried out in municipalities such as Arjona, Úbeda, Arjonilla, Martos, La Carolina, Mengibar, Villargordo, La Guardia, and Torredonjimeno.
Similarly, the Junta currently has 18 projects under construction with an investment of 57 million euros in municipalities like Linares (5.6 million euros), Navas de San Juan (8 million euros), and Villanueva del Arzobispo (7.9 million euros), among others.
In addition to these, there are seven projects in the bidding stage, ten approved projects awaiting bidding, and 26 projects in progress, 13 of them in smaller communities. The total amount allocated to purification projects exceeds 210 million euros since 2019, demonstrating the Andalusian Government’s commitment to the province of Jaén, highlighted the Minister.
The new WWTP in Porcuna features three buildings for operation, control, and disinfection. The facilities are complemented by appropriate networks for drinking water and industrial water, compressed air, and drainage, as well as workshop equipment, laboratory, spare parts, furniture, and the corresponding electrical safety elements.
On the other hand, the newly inaugurated sewerage system includes four new overflow outlets. The northern collector has a length of 3,490 meters, and the southern one, 5,747 meters, making a total length of 9,341 meters including the 104 meters of collector at the entrance and exit of the WWTP.