ERIZ_INNERERIZ Wastewater Treatment Plant, Innereriz, Bern, Switzerland

ERIZ_INNERERIZ is a municipal wastewater treatment plant located in the small village of Innereriz, within the Eriz municipality in the Bernese Oberland region of Switzerland. The plant serves a population of 264, reflecting its role in a rural alpine community. It operates under Swiss water protection regulations, which align with the EU Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive through bilateral agreements. The plant provides secondary treatment, a standard level for small agglomerations in Switzerland. Its designed capacity is 617.00 m³/day, with an actual discharge volume of 119.84 m³/day, indicating ample reserve capacity. Swiss regulations require secondary treatment for plants serving fewer than 2,000 people, and ERIZ_INNERERIZ meets this requirement. The treated effluent is discharged into local streams that feed into the Zulg River, a tributary of the Aare River, which ultimately flows into the Rhine and the North Sea. The plant helps protect the sensitive alpine aquatic ecosystems of the Bernese Oberland, supporting biodiversity in the region's cold, oxygen-rich waters.

The plant discharges into small mountain streams that drain into the Zulg River, a tributary of the Aare River. The Aare flows into the Rhine, which reaches the North Sea. The surrounding Bernese Oberland watershed supports diverse aquatic life, including brown trout and other cold-water species. The plant's secondary treatment reduces organic load and protects downstream water quality in this ecologically sensitive alpine region.