Durrwangen Wastewater Treatment Plant, Dürrwangen, Bavaria

The Durrwangen wastewater treatment plant is located in Dürrwangen, a municipality in the Landkreis Ansbach district of Bavaria, Germany. It served a population of approximately 1,972 people, classifying it as a small agglomeration under the EU Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (UWWTD). The plant is currently closed, and its operational history reflects the regulatory framework for small communities in Germany. The plant employed advanced treatment processes, which go beyond the secondary treatment standard required by the EU UWWTD for sensitive areas. With a designed capacity of 4,500 m³/day and a reported discharge volume of 856.61 m³, the plant operated well below its capacity. German wastewater facilities are subject to strict federal and state regulations, including the Water Resources Act (WHG) and state-specific requirements. The treated effluent from the plant was discharged into local water bodies that ultimately drain into the Danube River basin via the Wörnitz River. The region is part of the larger Danube catchment, which flows into the Black Sea. The plant's advanced treatment helped protect downstream aquatic ecosystems, including sensitive habitats in the Danube delta.

The plant's discharge contributed to the Wörnitz River, a tributary of the Danube, which flows into the Black Sea. The Danube basin supports diverse aquatic life and is an important ecological corridor. Advanced treatment at this plant helped reduce nutrient loads, protecting downstream water quality in a region where agriculture and urban runoff can impact sensitive freshwater ecosystems.