Guster Wastewater Treatment Plant, Güster, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany

The Guster wastewater treatment plant is located in Güster, a municipality in the district of Herzogtum Lauenburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. The plant served a population equivalent of 1,841 and was designed with a capacity of 2,330 cubic meters per day, with an average discharge volume of 465.91 cubic meters per day. The facility is now closed and no longer operational. As an advanced treatment plant, Guster provided a higher level of purification beyond secondary treatment, likely including nutrient removal or disinfection. Under the EU Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC), plants serving agglomerations of this size (under 2,000 population equivalent) are generally required to provide appropriate treatment, and Germany's national implementation often mandates advanced treatment in sensitive areas. The plant's treated effluent was discharged into local watercourses that drain into the Elbe River basin, ultimately reaching the North Sea. The region is characterized by lowland rivers and wetlands that support diverse aquatic life.

The Guster plant discharged into small streams within the Elbe River basin, which flows through northern Germany into the North Sea. The Elbe estuary and downstream Wadden Sea are ecologically sensitive areas supporting migratory birds, fish, and marine habitats. The advanced treatment level likely helped protect local water quality in this lowland agricultural region.