Glattfelden Wastewater Treatment Plant, Glattfelden, Zürich, Switzerland

The Glattfelden wastewater treatment plant is located in the municipality of Glattfelden, within the Bezirk Bülach district of the canton of Zürich, Switzerland. This facility serves a population of around 2,949 residents, making it a small-scale municipal treatment plant typical of rural communities in the Swiss lowlands. As a Swiss plant, it operates under the national Water Protection Act (Gewässerschutzgesetz), which implements the EU Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive standards. For agglomerations of this size, Swiss regulations require secondary biological treatment with nutrient removal to protect sensitive water bodies. The plant's designed capacity is 1.00 (likely in thousands of cubic meters per day or similar unit), indicating it is sized appropriately for its service population. The treated effluent from Glattfelden is discharged into local watercourses that ultimately drain into the Rhine River basin. The Rhine is a major European waterway flowing through Switzerland, Germany, and the Netherlands before reaching the North Sea. The plant's operations help maintain water quality in the Glatt River system, which supports diverse aquatic life and is used for recreation and drinking water supply downstream.

The Glattfelden plant discharges into the Glatt River, a tributary of the Rhine River. The Rhine flows through Switzerland, Germany, and the Netherlands before emptying into the North Sea. This watershed supports important fish populations, including salmon and trout, and provides drinking water for millions of people. The plant's nutrient removal helps prevent eutrophication in downstream lakes and coastal zones.