NOWA WIES Wastewater Treatment Plant, Nowa Wieś, Poland

The NOWA WIES wastewater treatment plant is located in Nowa Wieś, a village in the małopolskie province of southern Poland. It serves a population of 2,596 and operates as a secondary treatment facility, meeting the standards required for small agglomerations under Polish and EU regulations. As a secondary treatment plant, NOWA WIES removes organic matter and suspended solids from wastewater before discharge. The plant has a designed capacity of 6,960 m³/day and currently treats 370.15 m³/day, indicating significant reserve capacity. Under the EU Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC), plants serving fewer than 10,000 people are generally required to provide secondary treatment, which this facility fulfills. The treated effluent is discharged into local watercourses that eventually drain into the Vistula River basin, which flows north to the Baltic Sea. The plant plays a key role in protecting local streams and groundwater from untreated sewage, supporting the ecological health of the region's aquatic ecosystems.

The NOWA WIES plant discharges into small streams within the Vistula River basin. These waters flow through the Kraków region and ultimately reach the Baltic Sea via the Vistula delta. The area supports diverse aquatic life, including fish and macroinvertebrates, and the plant's secondary treatment helps reduce nutrient loading that could otherwise contribute to eutrophication in downstream waters.