Niedzica Wastewater Treatment Plant, Niedzica-Zamek, Lesser Poland

The Niedzica wastewater treatment plant is located in Niedzica-Zamek, a village in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship (województwo małopolskie) of southern Poland. The plant serves a population of approximately 6,100, placing it in the small-to-medium agglomeration category under Polish and EU regulations. The facility 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 9,000 m³/day and an actual discharge volume of 874 m³/day, the plant operates well below its capacity, indicating room for future growth or seasonal variations. The treated effluent is discharged into the local watershed, which ultimately drains into the Dunajec River, a tributary of the Vistula River. The Vistula flows northward into the Baltic Sea via the Gulf of Gdańsk. The plant's advanced treatment helps protect the sensitive Carpathian foothill ecosystems and the water quality of the Dunajec River, which is important for recreation and biodiversity.

The Niedzica plant discharges into the Dunajec River basin, part of the Vistula River system that flows into the Baltic Sea. The region is characterized by the Pieniny Mountains and the Czorsztyn Reservoir, a man-made lake used for hydropower and tourism. The downstream environment supports diverse aquatic life, including protected fish species, and the area is ecologically sensitive due to its mountainous terrain and recreational importance.