SAINTE HELENE Wastewater Treatment Plant, Sainte-Hélène, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France

The SAINTE HELENE wastewater treatment plant is located in Sainte-Hélène, a commune in the Gironde department of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. The facility serves a population of approximately 1,592 residents and is part of the region's municipal wastewater infrastructure. The plant employs advanced treatment processes, ensuring high-quality effluent before discharge. With a designed capacity of 3,000 m³/day and a current discharge volume of 284.01 m³/day, the plant operates well within its capacity. As a French facility, it operates under the national regulations transposing the EU Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC), which mandates appropriate treatment levels for agglomerations of this size. The treated effluent is discharged into the local watershed, which ultimately drains into the Atlantic Ocean via the Gironde estuary. The plant plays a key role in protecting the region's water quality and supporting the ecological health of downstream environments, including the estuary and coastal areas.

The plant discharges into the local watershed that feeds into the Gironde estuary, a major tidal estuary on the Atlantic coast of France. The estuary supports diverse aquatic life, including migratory fish species such as salmon and eels. The advanced treatment helps minimize nutrient loading and protect the sensitive estuarine ecosystem.