ACRI_DUGLIA Wastewater Treatment Plant, Acri, Calabria, Italy

ACRI_DUGLIA is a wastewater treatment plant located in Acri, a town in the province of Cosenza, Calabria, Italy. The plant serves a population of approximately 2,300 people and has a designed capacity of 2,500 cubic meters per day, with a discharge volume of 455.32 cubic meters per day. The plant employs advanced treatment processes, which go beyond secondary treatment to remove nutrients and other pollutants. As an Italian facility, it operates under the EU Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC), which requires advanced treatment for discharges into sensitive areas. For a small agglomeration of this size, the directive mandates at least secondary treatment, but the plant exceeds this standard. The treated effluent is discharged into local watercourses that drain into the Ionian Sea via the Crati River basin. The plant's inland location, more than 10 km from the coast, reduces direct marine impact. Its advanced treatment helps protect the receiving waters and downstream ecosystems from nutrient pollution.

The plant discharges into the Crati River basin, which flows into the Gulf of Taranto in the Ionian Sea. This watershed supports diverse aquatic life and is important for regional water quality. Advanced treatment at the plant helps minimize nutrient loading, protecting downstream habitats and the coastal marine environment from eutrophication.