STEP MOVELIER Wastewater Treatment Plant, Movelier, Jura, Switzerland

STEP MOVELIER is a municipal wastewater treatment plant located in Movelier, a small village in the Jura canton of Switzerland. The plant serves a population of approximately 320 residents, reflecting its role in a rural community. It operates under Swiss water protection regulations, which align with the EU Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive standards for small agglomerations. The plant provides secondary treatment, a standard biological process that removes organic matter and suspended solids. With a designed capacity of 750 m³/day and an average discharge volume of 145.26 m³/day, the facility operates well below its capacity, indicating room for future growth or seasonal variations. Swiss regulations require secondary treatment for all discharges into water bodies, ensuring compliance with national water quality goals. Treated effluent from STEP MOVELIER is discharged into local watercourses that eventually drain into the Rhine River basin, which flows through Switzerland, Germany, and the Netherlands before reaching the North Sea. The plant plays a key role in protecting the local watershed, supporting aquatic life in the region's streams and contributing to the overall health of the Rhine ecosystem.

The plant discharges into small streams in the Jura region, which are part of the Rhine River basin. These streams flow into the Birs River, a tributary of the Rhine, ultimately reaching the North Sea. The local watershed supports diverse aquatic life, including fish species such as brown trout, and the plant's secondary treatment helps maintain water quality in this ecologically sensitive area.