Etang Aere Wastewater Treatment Plant, Saint-Édouard-de-Lotbinière, Québec

Etang Aere is a municipal wastewater treatment facility located at 152 Rue Faucher in Saint-Édouard-de-Lotbinière, Québec, Canada. It serves a small population of approximately 519 residents in the Lotbinière Regional County Municipality, part of the Chaudière-Appalaches administrative region. The plant is operational and provides secondary treatment, a standard level for small communities in Canada. As a secondary treatment plant, Etang Aere uses biological processes to remove organic matter and suspended solids from wastewater. The plant discharges an average of 233 cubic meters of treated effluent per day. Canadian wastewater facilities are regulated under provincial and federal frameworks, including the Quebec Environment Quality Act and the federal Wastewater Systems Effluent Regulations, which set effluent quality standards for carbonaceous biochemical oxygen demand, suspended solids, and other parameters. The treated effluent from Etang Aere is discharged into local water bodies that drain into the St. Lawrence River watershed. The St. Lawrence River is a major ecological corridor supporting diverse aquatic life and migratory fish species. The plant's secondary treatment helps protect downstream water quality in this sensitive freshwater ecosystem.

The plant discharges into local streams that flow into the St. Lawrence River, one of the largest rivers in North America. The St. Lawrence River watershed supports a rich diversity of fish, including Atlantic sturgeon and American eel, and provides critical habitat for migratory birds. The river ultimately drains into the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Atlantic Ocean. Secondary treatment at this plant helps reduce nutrient and organic pollution, safeguarding the ecological health of the downstream aquatic environment.