Kelkheim Taunus _ Ruppertshain Wastewater Treatment Plant | Kelkheim (Taunus), Hessen

The Kelkheim Taunus _ Ruppertshain wastewater treatment plant is located in the Ruppertshain district of Kelkheim (Taunus), in the Main-Taunus-Kreis of Hessen, Germany. It serves a population of 2,237 and has a designed capacity of 4,950 cubic meters per day, with an actual discharge volume of 951.18 cubic meters per day. As an advanced treatment facility, it goes beyond the secondary treatment requirements of the EU Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC) for agglomerations of this size. The plant's advanced treatment likely includes nutrient removal to protect sensitive receiving waters, consistent with Germany's stringent implementation of the directive. The plant discharges treated effluent into local watercourses that ultimately drain into the Main River, a major tributary of the Rhine. This Rhine-Main region is ecologically significant, supporting diverse aquatic life and serving as an important corridor for migratory fish species.

The plant's treated effluent flows into small streams in the Taunus hills, which feed into the Main River and eventually the Rhine. The Rhine is a major European waterway that supports diverse ecosystems, including fish populations such as salmon and eel. The advanced treatment helps protect these downstream waters from nutrient pollution, which is critical given the ecological sensitivity of the Rhine basin.