DEP_COM_PILOZZO Wastewater Treatment Plant, Frascati, Lazio, Italy

DEP_COM_PILOZZO is a wastewater treatment facility located in Frascati, within the Lazio region of Italy. The plant serves a population of approximately 2,600 people, reflecting its role as a small-scale municipal treatment system in the suburban area southeast of Rome. The plant employs advanced treatment processes, which go beyond secondary treatment to remove nutrients and other pollutants. With a design capacity of 5,000 cubic meters per day and a current discharge volume of about 515 cubic meters per day, the facility operates well below its capacity, indicating potential for future growth. As an Italian plant, it operates under the EU Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC), which requires appropriate treatment levels based on the sensitivity of receiving waters. The treated effluent is discharged into local watercourses that eventually drain into the Tyrrhenian Sea. The plant's location more than 10 km from the coast but within 50 km places it in a coastal-influenced zone, where nutrient removal helps protect downstream marine ecosystems from eutrophication.

The plant discharges into small streams that flow through the Roman Campagna and eventually reach the Tyrrhenian Sea. This coastal region supports diverse marine life and is ecologically sensitive to nutrient inputs. Advanced treatment at this plant helps reduce nitrogen and phosphorus loads, protecting the downstream coastal waters from algal blooms and oxygen depletion.