Kufstein Wastewater Treatment Plant, Kiefersfelden, Bavaria

The Kufstein wastewater treatment plant is located in Kiefersfelden, a municipality in the Bavarian district of Rosenheim, Germany. Serving a population equivalent of 47,757, the plant is classified as a medium agglomeration under the EU Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC). The plant's location near the Austrian border places it within the Inn River catchment, a major tributary of the Danube. As a German facility, the plant must comply with the EU Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive, which requires secondary biological treatment for agglomerations between 10,000 and 150,000 population equivalent. For sensitive areas, such as those draining into the Danube basin, tertiary treatment for nutrient removal may be required. The plant's discharge is likely regulated under the German Water Resources Act (Wasserhaushaltsgesetz) and the Wastewater Ordinance (Abwasserverordnung). The treated effluent from the Kufstein plant discharges into the Inn River, which flows northward through Austria and Germany before joining the Danube near Passau. The Danube then carries water through Central and Eastern Europe to the Black Sea. The Inn River supports diverse aquatic life, including fish species such as grayling and brown trout, and its water quality is critical for downstream ecosystems and drinking water supplies.

The Kufstein plant discharges into the Inn River, a major Alpine tributary of the Danube. The Inn flows through the Bavarian Alps and into the Danube, which ultimately reaches the Black Sea. The river supports ecologically sensitive habitats, including gravel-bed spawning grounds for salmonid fish and riparian zones that provide migratory corridors for birds and mammals. Nutrient loading from wastewater can contribute to eutrophication in downstream reservoirs and the Black Sea, making effective treatment essential.