Ministerial Visit to the Wastewater Treatment Plant

Serge Telle, Ministre d’Etat, accompagné de Marie-Pierre Gramaglia, Conseiller de Gouvernement-Ministre de l’Équipement, de l’Environnement et de l’Urbanisme ainsi que Frédéric Van Heems, Directeur Général de Veolia Eau France et Olivier Grunberg, Président Délégué de la Société Monégasque des Eaux, lors de la visite de l'UTER©Direction de la Communication - Michael Alesi

On Tuesday 7 January, Serge Telle, Minister of State, accompanied by Marie-Pierre Gramaglia, Minister for Public Works, the Environment and Urban Development, Frédéric Van Heems, Chief Executive Officer of Veolia Eau France, and Olivier Grunberg, Deputy Chairman of the Société Monégasque des Eaux, visited the Wastewater Treatment Plant (UTER), where work is currently under way to improve and increase its treatment capacity.

The Monaco plant treats not only wastewater from the Principality, but also water from a wider catchment area that includes Beausoleil and part of the Cap d'Ail and La Turbie areas.  The plant is situated in the centre of the Fontvieille district, in the "Le Triton" building, a ten-storey industrial building constructed in the immediate vicinity of the Urban and Industrial Residues Incineration Plant.  This facility was made possible from the outset thanks to the development of wastewater treatment technologies that combine compactness with efficiency and are nuisance-free.

As part of the renewal of the SMEAUX public service concession contract, which was signed in 2015, extension work was envisaged on the UTER to increase its treatment capacity by 30% and cope with changes in flows of pollutants in the years to come.

This work necessitated the removal of the two levels of car parking on the Triton and the installation of advanced, innovative technology known as MBBR (Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor).  This biological treatment makes it possible to meet the most demanding discharge standards.

Particular importance was placed on the safety aspect of the construction site throughout the work.  In order to treat the additional volumes of foul air, an activated carbon deodorisation system was installed.  Although only 80% of the construction work has been completed, effective purification has already been achieved in the majority of cases.

Completion of the work is estimated for September 2020, ahead of the initial schedule, which had set the completion date for the end of the year.

Half of the EUR 32 million project has been financed by the State, and half by the SMEaux.  This project is a major part of the Principality's sustainable development policy.  It is important that wastewater is treated in Monaco in the most efficient way, despite the space constraints of this plant, which is a model of integration in an urban environment.

©Direction de la Communication - Michael Alesi