ROWP CL SARU DORNEI Wastewater Treatment Plant, Plaiu Șarului, Romania

ROWP CL SARU DORNEI is a municipal wastewater treatment plant located in Plaiu Șarului, a village in Șaru Dornei commune, Suceava County, Romania. The plant serves a small population of 323 residents, reflecting its role in a rural, mountainous area in the Eastern Carpathians. The plant provides secondary treatment, which is the standard biological treatment stage required under the EU Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive for agglomerations of this size. It has a designed capacity of 500 m³ per day and currently treats an average daily flow of 252.29 m³, indicating operational headroom. As a Romanian facility, it operates under national transposition of EU directives, with oversight from the Romanian Waters Authority (Apele Române). The treated effluent is discharged into local watercourses that drain into the Bistrița River, a tributary of the Siret River, which ultimately flows into the Danube River and then the Black Sea. The plant's operation helps protect the sensitive mountain streams and downstream aquatic ecosystems from untreated sewage.

The plant discharges into small streams in the Șaru Dornei area, which are part of the Bistrița River basin. These waters flow through the Eastern Carpathians, supporting diverse aquatic life and providing habitat for brown trout and other cold-water species. The Bistrița River joins the Siret River, a major tributary of the Danube, which empties into the Black Sea. Protecting these headwaters is crucial for maintaining water quality downstream in the Danube Delta, an ecologically significant region.