San Donato di Ninea Ficara Wastewater Treatment Plant, Verbicaro, Calabria, Italy

San Donato di Ninea Ficara is a wastewater treatment plant located in Verbicaro, in the Calabria region of southern Italy. The plant served a small population of 550 people, reflecting its role in a rural or small-town setting. It is now closed, with its operational status listed as closed. The plant provided 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 (PE) between 2,000 and 10,000. However, with a population served of 550, this plant falls below the threshold requiring mandatory treatment under the directive, though it still met secondary treatment standards. The designed capacity was 600 m³/day, and the actual discharge volume was 108.88 m³/day. The plant is located within 10 km of the coast, indicating that its treated effluent likely discharged into a coastal water body or a river flowing to the Tyrrhenian Sea. The surrounding area is part of the Calabrian coastal watershed, which supports Mediterranean marine ecosystems.

The plant is situated in Verbicaro, a municipality in the province of Cosenza, Calabria, near the Tyrrhenian Sea coast. The treated effluent from the plant would have discharged into a local watercourse that flows into the Tyrrhenian Sea, part of the Mediterranean Sea. The coastal waters in this region support diverse marine life, including seagrass meadows and fish populations. The proximity to the coast (within 10 km) means that any discharge could directly impact sensitive coastal ecosystems, making proper treatment essential for protecting water quality and marine biodiversity.