ENTRACQUE Wastewater Treatment Plant, Entracque, Piemonte, Italy

ENTRACQUE is a wastewater treatment plant located in the municipality of Entracque, in the province of Cuneo, Piemonte, Italy. The plant serves a population of about 1,838 people and is situated in the Maritime Alps, a mountainous region near the French border. It is an inland facility, not within 50 km of the coast. The plant provides secondary treatment, which is the standard biological treatment required under the EU Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC) for agglomerations of this size. The designed capacity is 5,000 m³/day, and the current discharge volume is 899 m³/day, indicating the plant operates well below its capacity. Secondary treatment typically involves biological oxidation and sedimentation. The treated effluent is discharged into local watercourses that ultimately drain into the Po River basin, which flows eastward to the Adriatic Sea. The plant plays a key role in protecting the sensitive alpine streams and the downstream Po River ecosystem from nutrient pollution and organic load.

The plant discharges into small mountain streams that feed into the Gesso River, a tributary of the Stura di Demonte, which joins the Tanaro River and eventually the Po River. The Po River flows through northern Italy and empties into the Adriatic Sea. The alpine watershed supports diverse aquatic life, including native trout species, and is an important area for biodiversity. The plant's secondary treatment helps reduce organic pollution and nutrient loading, protecting the ecological health of these sensitive mountain streams and the downstream Po River basin.