Wastewater Ultrafiltration for Agricultural Irrigation

The Albères-Côte Vermeille-Illibéris Community of Municipalities (CC ACVI) and Veolia are collaborating to operate the largest treated wastewater reuse facility in France for agricultural irrigation. This infrastructure implements membrane ultrafiltration technology to process municipal effluent for the agricultural sector, specifically targeting vineyards and orchards.

Applications and Use Cases
The treated effluent is directed toward the agricultural industry, supporting 650 hectares of farmland through established drip irrigation networks. Concrete technical use cases include maintaining required soil moisture levels for vineyards and apricot orchards without depleting local potable water reserves. This approach ensures process stability for local farmers, maintains crop yields, and increases the maintainability of regional water tables during extended drought periods.

Partners and Operational Challenge
CC ACVI acts as the local authority and network manager, while Veolia provides the environmental engineering and industrial automation required to construct and operate the treatment plant. The region faces structural water scarcity, a challenge exacerbated by a fluctuating population that peaks at 200,000 residents during summer months. Cooperation was required to integrate high-throughput filtration systems with the existing municipal wastewater network, ensuring the resulting agricultural water supply consistently meets strict regulatory parameters despite variable input volumes.

Technical Solution and Responsibilities
The technical architecture utilizes a multi-stage wastewater reuse unit. CC ACVI manages the agricultural distribution network, while Veolia oversees the plant's operational technology. Effluent is first pumped from the primary wastewater treatment plant and pre-filtered to block algae and large particulate matter. The core system relies on ultrafiltration, utilizing 13,300 square meters of membrane surface area housed within a 150-square-meter facility. This physical barrier removes targeted pollutants and biological contaminants, enabling the output to meet French Category A standards for agricultural water reuse. The treated water is subsequently disinfected and held in a storage tank before entering the distribution phase.

Deployment and Implementation
Deployed in Argelès-sur-Mer, France, the facility is integrated directly into the existing municipal wastewater infrastructure. Following its commissioning in April 2026, the system was configured to continuously supply approximately sixty local agricultural operations. Veolia managed the design, engineering, and construction phases, implementing automated control systems to monitor membrane integrity and output quality to prevent system fouling.

Results and Expected Impact
The facility processes up to 1.3 million cubic meters of treated wastewater annually. This output volume offsets local potable water consumption by an amount equivalent to 25 percent of the community's annual drinking water withdrawals. By substituting potable water with ultrafiltered wastewater for irrigation, the infrastructure significantly increases the region's resource resilience through measurable water recycling mechanisms.

Edited by Aishwarya Mambet, Induportals Editor, with AI assistance.

www.veoliawatertechnologies.com