Modified sanitation project for Don Benito-Villanueva is released for public review

The Guadiana Hydrographic Confederation, a body dependent on the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, has submitted for public review the works included in the construction project “modified number 1 of the sanitation and purification works project in Don Benito-Villanueva de la Serena (Badajoz)”, key 04.306.0589/2121. The announcement is published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Badajoz number 158, dated August 19, 2026, under reference 3288/2026, and opens a period of twenty business days for those who consider themselves affected to file claims.

The action was declared of general interest by additional provision 28 of Law 26/2009, of December 23, on the General State Budgets for 2010, and is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) in its 2014-2020 and 2021-2027 periods, within the Pluriregional Operational Programme of Spain (POPR). The project contributes to environmental conservation and is executed in stages.

A large-scale project

The objective of the project is to improve the sanitation and purification system of the towns of Don Benito and Villanueva de la Serena, ensuring compliance with current regulations regarding urban discharges and minimizing discharges via relief from the sanitation network. The works include the construction of a new WWTP located to the east of the current one, to the west of the EX-106 road and on the banks of the Guadiana river.

To ensure that wastewater reaches the new plant in appropriate conditions, the necessary collectors and outfalls will be executed. Additionally, to limit relief discharges, five regularization structures will be built—basically overflows with associated storm tanks—and in the case of the Regajo stream, a pond to laminate floods.

Figures and processing

The global award budget amounts to 72,639,895.66 euros, an amount that includes the award budget for the modification, which reaches 6,205,164.36 euros. The estimated cost of expropriations for this modification amounts to 80,454.09 euros.

The processing began with the tender for the service contract for the drafting of the preliminary project, published in the BOE number 121 on May 21, 2015. The project was technically approved by a resolution of the General Directorate of Water on July 31, 2023, with works beginning after the layout verification report of October 17, 2023, and a current completion date of April 17, 2027. The initiation of the present public information file was authorized and entrusted to the Guadiana Hydrographic Confederation by a resolution of the General Directorate of Water on July 13, 2026.

Affected assets and rights

The affected municipal districts are Don Benito and Villanueva de la Serena. The announcement’s annex includes the list of affected assets and rights, with plots in both municipalities:

• In Villanueva de la Serena: plots belonging to José María Nieto Cortijo, the City Council of Villanueva de la Serena, and Hnos. García Nogales.
• In Don Benito: plots belonging to Francisco Delgado Ortiz and others, Bufete Covarsi S. Coop. Especial and others, and Manuela García Trejo and others.

Claims must be submitted in writing to the Technical Director of the Guadiana Hydrographic Confederation, at avenida Sinforiano Madroñero number 12 in Badajoz, within twenty business days from the date of publication. During this period, the project will be available for review at the Confederation’s offices in Don Benito, as well as through the links provided in the announcement. The announcement is signed, by delegation (Order TED/544/2026, of May 28), by the President of the Confederation, Samuel Moraleda Ludeña.

The publication of this modification represents a key step toward completing a hydraulic infrastructure of general interest that will improve the treatment of wastewater from two of the main towns in the La Serena-Vegas Altas region, with a direct impact on the environmental quality of the Guadiana river and compliance with European regulations on urban discharges.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of Badajoz, no. 158, August 19, 2026, State Administration (official reference: Announcement 3288/2026).