KA SCHWARZERDEN Wastewater Treatment Plant, Reichweiler, Germany

KA SCHWARZERDEN is a municipal wastewater treatment plant located in Reichweiler, within the Kusel district of Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany. The plant served a population of approximately 1,564 people and had a designed capacity of 3,000 cubic meters per day, though it is now closed. As a secondary treatment facility, the plant provided biological treatment to reduce organic matter and suspended solids. Under the EU Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC), agglomerations of this size (under 2,000 population equivalent) are typically required to have appropriate treatment, with secondary treatment being standard for inland plants. The plant's treated effluent would have discharged into local watercourses within the Rhine basin, ultimately flowing to the North Sea. The surrounding region is characterized by rural and agricultural land use, with the plant playing a role in protecting local streams and groundwater quality.

The plant is located inland in the Kusel district, within the drainage basin of the Rhine River. Treated effluent would have entered small tributaries feeding the Nahe River, a tributary of the Rhine, which flows into the North Sea. The local watershed supports mixed agricultural and forested landscapes, and the plant's operation helped maintain water quality in these sensitive headwater streams.