ARMENTO PONTE DEL CASALE Wastewater Treatment Plant, Armento, Basilicata

ARMENTO PONTE DEL CASALE is a municipal wastewater treatment plant located in the Rione Casale area of Armento, a town in the province of Potenza, Basilicata, Italy. The plant serves a small population of 800 residents, reflecting the rural character of the region. The facility provides secondary treatment, which is the standard biological treatment required under the EU Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC) for agglomerations with a population equivalent above 2,000. Although the plant serves fewer than 2,000 people, it still meets secondary treatment standards, ensuring effective removal of organic matter and suspended solids. The designed capacity is 2000 m³/day, with a current discharge volume of 158.37 m³/day, indicating ample reserve capacity. The treated effluent is discharged into local watercourses that drain into the Ionian Sea via the Basento River basin. The plant plays a key role in protecting the water quality of the surrounding streams and the downstream coastal environment, supporting aquatic life and preventing eutrophication in the sensitive Mediterranean ecosystem.

The plant discharges into small streams that flow into the Basento River, which ultimately reaches the Ionian Sea. The Basento River basin supports diverse aquatic habitats and is important for regional biodiversity. The Ionian Sea coast near Basilicata features seagrass meadows and nursery grounds for fish, making nutrient and pollutant control from upstream treatment plants critical for marine ecosystem health.