The Castelló City Council has marked the beginning of a new era for the Water Treatment Plant with the formalization of the new operation and maintenance contract, awarded to Facsa. The Mayor, Begoña Carrasco, accompanied by the Councilor for Infrastructure, Sergio Toledo, and company representatives such as CEO Elena Llopis, visited the facilities today to present the details of this initiative.
The new contract, effective since last May and lasting four years with an option to extend until 2030, includes a total investment of 17.8 million euros (VAT included). As explained by Carrasco, this investment aims to "bring order where there was none" and provide the plant with "the budgetary and technical stability required for an essential public service" for the city.
The treatment plant, operational since 1980, currently processes 45,000 cubic meters of water daily, with a network of 12.5 kilometers of collectors and 19 pumping stations. The Mayor highlighted the importance of public-private collaboration with Facsa, a company with over 150 years of experience in the Integrated Water Cycle.
"Actions like this often go unseen, but they have an enormous impact on the quality of life and public health," Carrasco remarked, emphasizing that the treated water is returned to the environment or used for irrigating parks and gardens, and that sludge is valorized into fertilizer or energy.
Technological transformation is a fundamental pillar of the new contract, integrating advanced sensing, real-time data analytics, and a digital twin to simulate network behavior and anticipate intense rainfall events. "We are committed to a smarter and more efficient treatment plant," stated the Mayor.
For his part, the Councilor for Infrastructure, Sergio Toledo, detailed works already completed worth 4.3 million euros in the last two years, including improvements to pumping stations, heat exchangers, and the renovation of key facilities. Planned works include a new pumping station for wastewater recovery and the adaptation of the disinfection channel.
