ROWP Primaria Puchenii Mari Wastewater Treatment Plant, Potigrafu, Romania

ROWP Primaria Puchenii Mari is a municipal wastewater treatment plant located in Potigrafu, a village in Gorgota commune, Prahova County, Romania. The facility serves a small population of 200 residents, reflecting its role in a rural community within the Prahova River basin. The plant provides primary treatment, which involves physical processes such as sedimentation to remove suspended solids. With a designed capacity of 500 m³/day and a current discharge volume of 44.94 m³/day, the plant operates well below its capacity. Under Romanian and EU regulations, small agglomerations under 2,000 population equivalent (PE) are subject to national standards, though the EU Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC) applies to larger settlements. The treated effluent is discharged into local watercourses that ultimately drain into the Prahova River, a tributary of the Ialomița River, which flows into the Danube River and then the Black Sea. The plant's operation helps protect downstream aquatic ecosystems from untreated sewage, supporting water quality in the Danube basin.

The plant discharges into local streams that feed the Prahova River, part of the Danube River basin. The Prahova River flows through the Carpathian foothills and agricultural plains before joining the Ialomița River, which eventually reaches the Danube Delta and the Black Sea. The downstream environment supports diverse aquatic life, including fish species such as carp and pike, and the area is important for migratory birds. Proper treatment at this plant helps reduce nutrient and pollutant loads that could otherwise contribute to eutrophication in the Danube Delta.