4530012008 KA Harkebrugge - Closed Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant in Harkebrügge, Germany

4530012008 KA Harkebrugge is a former wastewater treatment plant located in Harkebrügge, a village in the municipality of Barßel, Landkreis Cloppenburg, Niedersachsen, Germany. The plant served a small agglomeration of 1,634 people and had a designed capacity of 3,500 m³/day, indicating it was sized for modest community needs. The plant provided advanced treatment, which goes beyond the secondary treatment required by the EU Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC) for agglomerations of this size. Advanced treatment typically includes nutrient removal (nitrogen and phosphorus) to protect sensitive water bodies. The plant is now closed, and its operational status suggests that wastewater services have been consolidated or upgraded elsewhere in the region. The treated effluent likely discharged into a local stream or canal within the Ems basin, which flows into the North Sea. The plant's advanced treatment would have helped protect downstream aquatic ecosystems.

The plant is situated in the Ems river basin, which drains into the North Sea. The region is characterized by low-lying, agriculturally intensive landscapes with numerous canals and small watercourses. Advanced treatment at this plant would have reduced nutrient loads, helping to prevent eutrophication in downstream waters and supporting the ecological health of the Ems estuary and the Wadden Sea, a sensitive coastal ecosystem.