Cassano all'Ionio Bruscata Grande Wastewater Treatment Plant, Calabria, Italy

The Cassano all'Ionio Bruscata Grande wastewater treatment plant is located in the Bruscata Grande area of Marina di Sibari, within the municipality of Cassano all'Ionio in the Calabria region of southern Italy. The plant serves a population of approximately 5,000 people and has a designed capacity of 6,000 cubic meters per day, with a reported discharge volume of 989.82 cubic meters per day. As an advanced treatment facility, it employs processes that go beyond secondary treatment to remove nutrients and other pollutants, ensuring high-quality effluent. The plant operates under the EU Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive 91/271/EEC, which requires advanced treatment for discharges into sensitive areas and for agglomerations of this scale in coastal zones. The plant's treated effluent is discharged into the local environment near the Ionian Sea coast, within 10 kilometers of the shoreline. The receiving waters ultimately drain into the Ionian Sea, a part of the Mediterranean Sea. This coastal area supports diverse marine life and is important for local fisheries and tourism, making proper wastewater treatment critical for protecting water quality and ecosystems.

The plant discharges into the Ionian Sea, a major basin of the Mediterranean Sea, via local coastal waters. The area supports seagrass meadows and marine habitats that are sensitive to nutrient pollution. Advanced treatment helps reduce eutrophication risk and protects the ecological health of the coastal zone, which is also used for recreation and fishing.