Cape Verde expands wastewater sanitation system in Santa Maria

In November, the Prime Minister of Cape Verde, Ulisses Correia e Silva, inaugurated the expansion works on the Santa Maria Wastewater Sanitation System, on the Sal island. After its implementation, in 2017, the progressive growth of tourist activity on Sal, turned this action indispensable, promoted in the form of a public-private partnership with the Government, the Sal Municipality and the concessionary company of the sanitation service, Águas de Ponta Preta - Ambiente, an ALER member.

The expansion project included the extension of the sewerage network with a new lifting station in the new hotel zone of Ponta Sinó and its corresponding impulsion line, in this case 5 km long. This equipment has a system for separating solids, grease and sand.

The Wastewater Treatment Station (WWTP) had its capacity increased by 50%, thus changing from a maximum inlet flow of 2,500 m3/day to 3,750 m3/day. For this, a new biological treatment line was built, the third, of 1,250 m3/day. At the same time, pre-treatment and biological aeration were reinforced and tertiary treatment was expanded with a new lamellar decantation process.

Energy efficiency was also contemplated in these works and, in addition to installing devices to optimize the performance of electromechanical equipment and LED lighting, a 300 kWp photovoltaic solar power plant was built to generate 30% of the energy consumed in the wastewater treatment process. The Santa Maria WWTP also has a charging point for electric vehicles.

In a commitment to sustainability, and for environment conservation and optimizing available resources, a second stage was incorporated to the tertiary treatment, to increase the number of uses of regenerated water, namely in food agriculture. This new stage includes three consistent processes in ultrafiltration, ozonation and reverse osmosis.

The investment was 440 million escudos, financed by national commercial banking, in this case Banco Caboverdiano de Negócios (BCN) in 90% and by the company's own resources in 8%. The remaining 2% was non-refundable funding for the project “Access to Sustainable Energy for Water Management: Nexos Energia-Água”, funded by GEF - Global Environment Facility and to be implemented in Cape Verde by the UNIDO and by the Government, through the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Energy (MICE).

These expansion works will guarantee service to a resident population of 8,000 people and 14,000 tourists, and are in line with the provisions of the National Strategic Plan for Water and Sanitation (PLENAS) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 6.2, which equitable access to basic sanitation by 2030.