PS 600 Wastewater Treatment Plant, Zebrzydowice, Lesser Poland

PS 600 is a municipal wastewater treatment plant located in Zebrzydowice, a village in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship (województwo małopolskie) of southern Poland. The plant serves a population of 2,128, classifying it as a small agglomeration under Polish and EU regulations. It is situated in a rural area near the town of Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, within the Wadowice County. The plant provides secondary treatment, which is the minimum required by the EU Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC) for agglomerations of this size. The designed capacity is 3,000 m³/day, and the current discharge volume is 303.42 m³/day, indicating significant spare capacity. As a Polish facility, it operates under the national water law and is subject to permits issued by the Regional Water Management Board (RZGW) in Krakow. The treated effluent from PS 600 is discharged into a local watercourse that ultimately drains into the Vistula River basin, the largest river in Poland. The Vistula flows northward through Krakow and Warsaw before emptying into the Baltic Sea. The plant plays a key role in protecting local streams and the broader Vistula catchment from nutrient pollution, supporting aquatic life and downstream water quality.

PS 600 discharges into a small tributary of the Skawa River, which flows into the Vistula River near Krakow. The Vistula River basin is ecologically significant, supporting diverse fish species and migratory birds. The plant's secondary treatment helps reduce organic load and nutrients, protecting the downstream aquatic ecosystem from eutrophication. The region is part of the Carpathian foothills, with sensitive water bodies that require careful management to maintain biodiversity.