Gragnano Trebbiense Nuovo Wastewater Treatment Plant, Centora, Emilia-Romagna

Gragnano Trebbiense Nuovo is an advanced wastewater treatment plant located in Centora, a locality within the municipality of Gragnano Trebbiense, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. The plant serves a population of approximately 2,356 residents and has a designed capacity of 5,000 cubic meters per day, with a current discharge volume of 365.4 m³/day. The plant employs advanced treatment processes, which go beyond the secondary treatment required by the EU Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC) for agglomerations of this size. Advanced treatment typically includes nutrient removal (nitrogen and phosphorus) to protect sensitive water bodies. As a facility in Italy, it operates under national regulations that implement the EU directive, ensuring high effluent quality standards. The treated wastewater is discharged into the local drainage network, which ultimately flows into the Po River basin. The Po River is the longest river in Italy and drains into the Adriatic Sea. The plant's advanced treatment helps protect the Po River ecosystem and the Adriatic coastal environment from nutrient pollution, supporting aquatic life and water quality downstream.

The plant discharges into the Po River basin, which flows eastward through northern Italy to the Adriatic Sea. The Po River supports diverse aquatic life and is an important agricultural and ecological corridor. Advanced treatment at this plant reduces nutrient loads, helping to prevent eutrophication in the Adriatic Sea, particularly in the sensitive northern Adriatic where algal blooms can impact fisheries and tourism.