Thalis, a Motor Oil Group company, undertakes the rehabilitation of the Heraklion Wastewater Treatment Plant: A benchmark project for the ecological transformation of the Municipality

Thalis, a member of the MOTOR OIL HELLAS Group, helps to improve the quality of life of the residents of Crete, enhancing the Municipality of Heraklion's transition to the circular economy and ensuring the overall sustainability of the island.

The event for the presentation of D.E.Y.A.I.' s project "ADDITION OF TERTIARY WASTERWATER TREATMENT IN HERAKLION WWTP AND USE OF EXHAUST FOR IRRIGATION" was held in the hall of the Vikelaia Municipal Library of Heraklion. Attendees and speakers included, among others, the Deputy Minister of Development Mr. Maximos Senetakis, the Regional Governor of Crete Mr. Stavros Arnaoutakis, the Mayor of Heraklion Mr. Alexis Kalokairinos and the President of the Heraklion DEYA Mr. George Vurexakis. In addition, the event was attended online by the Secretary General of Waste Management Coordination, Mr. Manolis Grafakos.

During the event, the scope of the project and its development implications were presented by the Municipal Water Supply and Sewerage Service of Heraklion (D.E.Y.A.I.), the project designer, and Thalis, a subsidiary of the Motor Oil Group, which is the contractor.

With the implementation of this flagship project, funded by the Recovery and Resilience Fund, the safe and full reuse of treated wastewater for irrigation of crops in rural areas of the Municipality of Heraklion and the peri-urban greenery of the city is achieved, implementing 100% of the circular economy model, resulting in the conservation of natural resources.

Therefore, with the new tertiary wastewater treatment plant, the entire outflow will be fully utilized so that the 30,000 m3/day that is currently available in the sea can be used for the irrigation of olive groves and vineyards covering an area of approximately 3000 hectares and the greenery of the coastal zone and the Venetian walls of the city of Heraklion.

At the same time, the new European Commission guidelines for urban wastewater are adopted for the first time in Greece with the addition of appropriate technology for the removal of micro-pollutants. In this way, Heraklion will be the first large municipality in the country to implement the Quaternary Treatment in a Wastewater Treatment Plant.

The event was attended by representatives of the local government and development institutions of Crete.

The Vice President of Thalis and General Manager Waste Management of Motor Oil Group, Mr. Dimitris Kontaxis , said in his event speech, "This is a flagship project for the ecological transformation of the Municipality of Heraklion and a tangible example of Circular Economy in the sector of the most valuable natural resource, which is no other than water. Once the construction of the project is completed, urban waste water will no longer be wasted and discharged into the sea, but will be treated and in order to be reused. In total, more than 10 million cubic metres of urban waste water per year will be converted into clean water for irrigation, with the potential to meet the irrigation needs of more than 3000 hectares of greenery. With the launch of the project, a major upgrade of the water cycle in Heraklion is taking place with multiple development benefits for the local community. At the same time, a new cycle is opened to ensure the sufficiency of the precious natural resource, water. Thalis, a subsidiary of the Motor Oil Group, places Circular Economy at the core of its business activity, aiming to contribute decisively to the green transformation and to enhance the sustainability of Greece's infrastructure systems."