ARA Schrattenthal 445 HL ex Obermarkersdorf - Advanced Wastewater Treatment in Niederösterreich

ARA Schrattenthal 445 HL ex Obermarkersdorf is an advanced wastewater treatment facility located in Obermarkersdorf, a locality in the municipality of Schrattenthal, Bezirk Hollabrunn, Niederösterreich, Austria. The plant serves a population of 1,393 and has a designed capacity of 4,600 m³/day, with a current discharge volume of approximately 300 m³/day, indicating significant reserve capacity. As an advanced treatment plant, it goes beyond secondary treatment to remove nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus, meeting the stringent requirements of the EU Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC) for sensitive areas. Austria, as an EU member state, implements this directive through national legislation, ensuring that plants of this scale provide appropriate treatment to protect receiving waters. The plant discharges treated effluent into local watercourses that ultimately drain into the Danube River basin, which flows into the Black Sea. The advanced treatment helps safeguard downstream aquatic ecosystems, including the Danube's rich biodiversity, by reducing nutrient loads that could cause eutrophication in the river and the Black Sea.

The plant's treated effluent enters local streams within the Danube River basin, eventually reaching the Danube and then the Black Sea. This region features a mix of agricultural and forested landscapes, and the advanced treatment helps protect sensitive aquatic habitats from nutrient pollution, supporting diverse fish and invertebrate communities in the downstream waterways.