LEMNA Wastewater Treatment Plant, Bartodzieje, Poland

LEMNA is a wastewater treatment plant located in Bartodzieje, within the gmina Tczów in województwo mazowieckie, Poland. It serves a population of 2,011, classifying it as a small agglomeration under Polish regulations. The plant provides secondary treatment, which is the standard required by the EU Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC) for inland freshwater discharges from agglomerations of this size. Secondary treatment involves biological processes to reduce organic matter and suspended solids, ensuring compliance with EU effluent standards. The plant's designed capacity is 2,000 m³/day, and it currently discharges an average of 286.74 m³/day, indicating ample reserve capacity. As a municipal facility, it operates under Polish environmental law, which implements EU directives through the Water Law Act and relevant ministerial regulations. The treated effluent is discharged into local watercourses that ultimately drain into the Vistula River basin, the largest river system in Poland. The Vistula flows northward into the Baltic Sea, making the plant's performance important for downstream water quality. The surrounding region is predominantly agricultural, so the plant helps protect local streams from nutrient pollution and supports the ecological health of the Vistula catchment.

The plant discharges into local tributaries of the Vistula River, which flows through central Poland and empties into the Baltic Sea via the Gdańsk Bay. The Vistula basin supports diverse aquatic habitats and is an important migratory corridor for fish species. Nutrient removal from secondary treatment helps mitigate eutrophication risks in the Baltic Sea, a sensitive marine environment subject to international cooperation under HELCOM.