Rastow Wastewater Treatment Plant, Uelitz, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

The Rastow wastewater treatment plant is located in Uelitz, a municipality in the Ludwigslust-Parchim district of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It serves a population of approximately 3,100 people, placing it in the small agglomeration category under German and EU regulations. The plant employs advanced treatment processes, which go beyond the secondary treatment standard required by the EU Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC) for agglomerations of this size. With a designed capacity of 4,800 m³/day and an actual discharge volume of 537 m³/day, the plant operates well below its capacity, indicating room for future growth or seasonal variations. The treated effluent is discharged into local watercourses that ultimately drain into the Baltic Sea via the Elbe River basin. The plant's advanced treatment helps protect downstream aquatic ecosystems, including the sensitive coastal waters of the Baltic Sea, which are designated as sensitive areas under the EU directive.

The plant discharges into small streams that feed into the Sude River, a tributary of the Elbe. The Elbe flows into the North Sea near Cuxhaven, Germany. The region's lowland hydrology supports diverse freshwater habitats, and the advanced treatment at Rastow reduces nutrient loads that could otherwise contribute to eutrophication in downstream waters, including the ecologically important Wadden Sea area.