Veolia Water, bidding through a consortium, recently won a concession contract with the Reunion North Interdistrict Community (CINOR), the authority responsible for wastewater treatment in the districts of Saint-Denis, Sainte-Marie and Sainte-Suzanne, home to some 190,000 people.
The 20-year contract covers design, financing, construction and operation of the new "Grand Prado" water treatment plant in Sainte-Marie.
The project is a milestone in the campaign to rehabilitate the natural environment and will ensure compliance with standards for the quality of urban wastewater in sensitive areas and the bacteriological quality of bathing water, as set out in the European directive on urban wastewater treatment.
The project is based on a concept of zero pollution (noise and odors), compliance with a "green worksite" charter for plant construction and a partnership with the island's office of air quality, which will organize a panel of "noses" made up of volunteers from the local community. The plant will be a benchmark for sustainable development on the island as part of the "Green Reunion Island" campaign, stemming from France's Environment Round Table (Grenelle de l'Environnement).
Work includes:
- installing solar panels on rooftops to generate power,
- using cogeneration to produce electricity with biogas from anaerobic digestion,
- setting up a microfiltration unit to reuse part of the treated water to meet the plant's internal needs,
- and treating run-off through phytoremediation.
The plant has also been designed to blend into its surroundings with initiatives such as using a "green" curtain and partial burial of some structures.