CZARNA Wastewater Treatment Plant, Czarna, Podkarpackie, Poland

The CZARNA wastewater treatment plant is located in Czarna, a village in the Podkarpackie Voivodeship of southeastern Poland. The facility serves a population of approximately 6,053 residents, placing it in the small-to-medium agglomeration category under Polish and EU regulations. The plant employs advanced treatment processes, which go beyond the EU Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive's minimum secondary treatment requirement for agglomerations of this size. With a designed capacity of 11,254 m³/day and an actual discharge volume of 863.06 m³/day, the plant operates well below its capacity, indicating room for future growth. As a Polish facility, it operates under national water law transposing EU directives, with permits issued by the Regional Water Management Board (RZGW) in Krakow. The treated effluent is discharged into local watercourses that ultimately drain into the Wisłok River, a tributary of the San River, which flows into the Vistula River and then into the Baltic Sea. The plant plays a key role in protecting the region's surface waters from nutrient pollution, supporting aquatic life and downstream ecosystems.

The CZARNA plant discharges into local streams that feed the Wisłok River, part of the Vistula basin draining into the Baltic Sea. The region's water bodies support diverse aquatic habitats and are sensitive to nutrient enrichment. Advanced treatment helps reduce phosphorus and nitrogen loads, mitigating eutrophication risks in the Baltic Sea.