LES BRENETS Wastewater Treatment Plant, Le Locle, Neuchâtel

LES BRENETS is an advanced wastewater treatment plant located in Les Brenets, a locality within the municipality of Le Locle in the Neuchâtel canton of France. The plant serves a population of approximately 4,489 people, reflecting its role in managing domestic wastewater for this small community in the Jura Mountains region. The plant employs advanced treatment processes, which go beyond the secondary treatment required by the EU Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC) for agglomerations of this size. With a designed capacity of 2,500 m³/day and a current discharge volume of 800.83 m³/day, the facility operates well within its capacity, ensuring effective treatment of wastewater before discharge. The treated effluent is discharged into the local watershed, which ultimately drains into the Doubs River, a transboundary river that flows through France and Switzerland before joining the Saône River and eventually the Rhône. The plant's advanced treatment helps protect the sensitive aquatic ecosystems of the Doubs River, which supports diverse fish populations and is an important migratory corridor.

The plant discharges into the Doubs River basin, which flows through the Jura region into Switzerland and then back into France, eventually joining the Saône River and the Rhône. The Doubs River supports a diverse aquatic ecosystem, including brown trout and grayling, and is an important corridor for migratory fish. Advanced treatment at this plant helps maintain water quality in this ecologically sensitive transboundary river.