Incatema completes the works of the Cambérène submarine outfall (Dakar, Senegal)

22 September, 2023

Incatema has concluded the works of the Cambérène submarine outfall. The infrastructure, funded by the Islamic Development Bank, will be handed over in the coming days to the National Sanitation Office of Senegal (ONAS), the project's promoter.

The execution of the final section of the project involved ballasting, laying, protecting, and marking the last 100 m of polyethylene pipeline, following the removal of the tunnel boring machine that allowed excavating a micro-tunnel over 1,200 m long and a 2.6 m diameter under the Atlantic Ocean. It is only at that distance from the coast, in open sea, is where the final dilution process of previously treated wastewater takes place, cleaned and purified at the local wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), also built by Incatema. The WWTP has recently been commissioned to test its proper functioning until final delivery, as previously reported here.

The purification process begins at the WWTP and concludes in open sea thanks to the natural conditions of the ocean

Once the wastewater, previously treated at the WWTP, reaches open sea through the submarine outfall, the ocean completes the purification process naturally. According to Fernando Díaz, Director of Infrastructure at Incatema, "in deep ocean waters, natural physical, chemical, and biological conditions occur, without human intervention, which allow the water diluted from the outfall to be fully purified. The water temperature, ocean pressure, salinity conditions, ocean currents, and ultraviolet radiation contribute to this process."

Both infrastructures, the WWTP and the outfall directly connected to it, contribute to the circular economy and the blue economy, and are part of the Senegalese Government's program to reduce pollution in the northern area of Dakar, one of the most polluted cities in the African country. Once both infrastructures are fully operational, they will have a very positive impact on the population of the area, in line with UN Sustainable Development Goals number 6, "Clean Water and Sanitation”, and number 14, "Life Below Water”.