Facts & Figures
| Client | Zona Oeste Mais Saneamento | ||||||
| Licensee | BRK Ambiental | ||||||
| Location | Deodoro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | ||||||
| Operation Start | 2016 | ||||||
| Wastewater | Municipal | ||||||
| Project Type | Greenfield | ||||||
| Process Configuration | Pre-treatment + Nereda | ||||||
| Nereda Design Capacity: | |||||||
| • Dry Weather Flow | 86,400 m3/d | ||||||
| • Peak Flow | 6,120 m3/h | ||||||
| • PE | 432,000 PE (PE = 60 gBOD/d) | ||||||
| In the Media: | Around the rings (Website on the Olympics) O Globo (Brazilian newspaper) Jornal do Brazil Marca (Spanish newspaper) | ||||||
About the Rio de Janeiro - Deodoro WWTP
Deodoro WWTP is situated in Rio de Janeiro, a huge seaside city in Brazil. Deodoro is a neighbourhood of the West Zone of Rio and was one of four venue locations for the Olympic Games in the summer of 2016.
The Challenge
The Deodoro WWTP was originally planned to address issues prior to the 2016 Olympic Games, but it now continues to enhance the lives of thousands of Rio de Janeiro residents. The district of Deodoro was one of four venue locations for the Summer Olympics, along with Barra da Tijuca, Copacabana, and Maracanã. In the lead up to the Games, a vast programme of sanitation works was undertaken to improve the health of the local population and the environment. With the eyes of the world focussed on Rio, a particular concern was to reduce the amount of domestic sewage flowing into the West Zone rivers and Guanabara Bay. This was an especially urgent issue, since the Olympic sailing events were to be held there.
The Solution
The first phase of the upgrade plan included 200 km of new sewage networks, 11 pumping stations and connections for 25,000 households. The existing Constantino Arruda Pessoa WWTP was extended for the project, by adding a new treatment system based on Nereda technology. This ground-breaking, sustainable treatment process, treats wastewater fully biologically, using aerobic granular sludge to purify the wastewater before returning the cleaned water to the environment. It was selected both for its efficiency and its capabilities.
The Outcome
On its opening in 2016, the Deodoro WWTP was the largest Nereda plant built anywhere in the world and the first of its kind in South America – though several more projects have followed in Brazil, which have built on the success of Deodoro. The new plant was designed to eventually treat the wastewater of 432,000 people, the equivalent to 86,400m³ per day, and the plant serves two fifths of the population of Rio de Janeiro’s West Zone. With 10 times the capacity of the original plant, the flow of domestic sewage into the local rivers and bay has been massively reduced. It represents one of the most significant legacy projects from the 2016 Olympic Games and the Deodoro plant continues to bring benefits to the local population and the cleaner environment for generations to come.
Rio de Janeiro - Deodoro Nereda® WWTP on YouTube
Promotional movie by Foz Aguas 5 (English subtitles)
WWTP Nereda® in Deodoro, time lapse construction
The local benefits of the project
 | Greater treatment capacity | |
| Environmental benefits | |
| Improved efficiency | |
| Small carbon footprint | |
| | Cleaner water |
More information
First South American Nereda plant celebrates a year in operation