History of The Elorrieta pump
Part of the facilities of the old Bilbao sewage system can be seen in the Karmelo Larrea Park in the Elorrieta – San Ignacio neighbourhood. Designed by the engineer, Recaredo de Uhago in 1894, it was the first modern wastewater purification system in the whole of Spain; it included a separation mesh, a large tank and a steam engine room with Worthington pumps which are still preserved. In 2022, it was declared a Monument Cultural Asset for its historical value.
A bit of history
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In 1885, the cholera epidemic that affected industry and mining in Bizkaia also severely impacted Bilbao, a city that was still partially supplied with contaminated water from the estuary. In the face of an alarming mortality rate, Bilbao City Council launched a public tender in 1890 for a sanitation project, which was won by the engineer Recaredo de Uhagón. His proposal “Mens sana in corpore sano” was chosen for its technical expertise and feasibility.
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In 1894, with a population of almost 64,000 in Bilbao, Uhagón presented a project that included a separate sewerage network, eliminating cesspools and building a new system for wastewater while maintaining the existing system for rainwater.
Three main collectors were planned, two on the left bank and one on the right, connected by siphons and leading to a large reservoir in the current neighbourhood of Elorrieta, from where the water would be pumped through a pipe to La Galea in Getxo, to be discharged untreated into the sea.
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To this end, the water would first flow through a 10-kilometre long reinforced concrete pipe running along the right bank of the estuary parallel to the railway line, and then along the final stretch of the Gobela basin, with a final section of almost three kilometres in a tunnel.
The tunnel was divided into five sections for construction, with the excavation of five connection shafts, which, once the works were completed, would serve as inspection chambers. These are popularly known as the “Malakates de Getxo”. The tunnel ended at the foot of the cliffs on the “sanitation beach”, also known as the “tunnel mouth”.
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Work began in 1895 and was completed in 1903, at a cost similar to the City Council’s total budget for one year, some 5.5 million pesetas at the time. During this period, 20 kilometres of underground pipes and a tunnel of almost three kilometres were built at the end in Getxo.
The infrastructure included a pump house in Elorrieta, which had a striking industrial aesthetic. It housed two efficient and compact Worthington steam engines, which are still preserved, along with three Babcock & Wilcox boilers, which are no longer there, and other complementary equipment, such as a bridge crane and a power generator.
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Thanks to this infrastructure, Bilbao became the first city in the country to have a modern sanitation system, which was particularly innovative due to the adoption of bacteriolysis-based purification techniques. By 1903, however, urban growth had overwhelmed the capacity of the Elorrieta facilities.
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In the following decades, the facilities were adapted to cater for the city’s growth. In the mid-20th century, steam engines became obsolete and the site was abandoned by the City Council and the Water Consortium. Metro construction and other urban development projects led to further deterioration of the site.
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Despite its abandonment, the historical value of the Uhagón sanitation system led to the site being declared a Qualified Cultural Asset by the Basque Government in 2022.
The Elorrieta facilities have been partially restored and it is possible to visit the site during specific events and tours. In addition, in Getxo, the vertical access shafts and the water outlet tunnel on the “tunnel mouth” beach are still preserved.