ARA Pustertal AG

ARA Pustertal AG is a South Tyrolean wastewater utility company that operates the sewage treatment infrastructure of the Pustertal Valley (Val Pusteria) in northern Italy. According to its official website, the company operates five sewage treatment plants, the main collector in Pustertal, and a sewage sludge drying and incineration plant on behalf of the Pustertal Wastewater Consortium. Its stated mission is to treat the wastewater of the entire Pustertal Valley, dispose of the resulting residues, and thereby keep domestic waters clean. The company's operational footprint is spread across several locations in the valley. Its plants include ARA Tobl (with IDA, TRA and TVA facilities in Tobl), ARA Innichen-Sexten (the wastewater treatment plant in San Candido), ARA Wasserfeld (in Welsberg), ARA Sompunt (in Badia), and ARA Unteres Pustertal (in Mühlbach). Beyond wastewater treatment, the company's service portfolio includes waste recycling, disposal services for small sewage treatment plants, and sewer services. ARA Pustertal's infrastructure has been developed over several decades. The ARA Sompunt plant was planned and built between 1983 and 1992, entering operation in January 1990. The ARA Tobl plant, notable for being constructed as an underground cavern facility, began construction in 1991, was completed in September 1995, and has been in operation since 3 July 1996. The ARA Wasserfeld plant was built from October 1993 to September 1999 and has been in operation since 16 December 1999. The cavern design at Tobl was chosen after ten potential surface locations were investigated between 1976 and 1990 and rejected by the local population; the underground approach saved scarce cultural land in the narrow Alpine valley and offered advantages such as independence from weather conditions, no odour emissions, and stable operating temperatures. The company communicates with the public through its website, where it provides information about water, wastewater and sewage sludge disposal, and publishes news updates. Recent news items include an open day event, holiday greetings, and a test programme to optimize a secondary clarifier in the Lower Puster Valley. The company is based in the Pustertal Valley and serves communities throughout the valley, including Tobl, Innichen, Welsberg, Badia and Mühlbach.

ARA Pustertal AG operates the wastewater treatment infrastructure of the Pustertal Valley (Val Pusteria) in South Tyrol, northern Italy. The company's history is closely tied to the development of modern wastewater treatment in this Alpine valley, where tourism and settlement had increasingly polluted the River Rienz, which runs through the entire Pustertal. The earliest of the company's plants documented on its website is ARA Sompunt. Planning and construction of ARA Sompunt began in 1983 and was completed in 1992. Initial operation and functional tests took place in December 1989, and the plant has been in operation since January 1990. The development of ARA Tobl illustrates the challenges of building large infrastructure in a narrow Alpine valley. Between 1976 and 1990, the team of the Castlunger engineering office in Bruneck, responsible for planning and site management, investigated ten potential locations. None of these sites were accepted by the local population. Since the Middle Pustertal catchment area, with its numerous tourists, could no longer afford to pollute the River Rienz, the idea was born to construct the Association Wastewater Treatment Plant Middle Pustertal as a cavern plant. Construction of ARA Tobl started in 1991 and ended in September 1995. Commissioning and functional checks ran from January to June 1996, and the plant has been in operation since 3 July 1996. The underground construction method offered several advantages: saving valuable cultural land, which is scarce in the narrow Alpine valleys; construction independent of weather conditions; high acceptance by the population; no odour emissions due to central ventilation; no difficulties during winter operation such as icing, snow or frost; no complications due to wind influences such as aerosol or mould sludge removal; no algae formation in canals and basins due to lack of sunlight; and longer service life of structural and mechanical installations due to constant temperature conditions. The disadvantages included higher construction costs due to rock excavation and rock securing work, and higher operating costs due to ventilation systems in the tunnels. The caverns are located in the Brixner Quartzphyllitzone within a rocky outcrop on the orographically left side of the Pustertal valley. ARA Wasserfeld was built between October 1993 and September 1999. Initial operation and function tests took place from October to December 1999, and the plant has been in operation since 16 December 1999. Today, ARA Pustertal AG operates five sewage treatment plants, the main collector in Pustertal, and a sewage sludge drying and incineration plant on behalf of the Pustertal Wastewater Consortium. The company treats the wastewater of the entire Pustertal Valley, disposes of the residues, and thereby ensures that domestic waters are kept clean. Its plants are located at Tobl (with IDA, TRA and TVA facilities), Innichen-Sexten (San Candido), Wasserfeld (Welsberg), Sompunt (Badia), and Unteres Pustertal (Mühlbach). In addition to wastewater treatment, the company offers waste recycling, disposal of small sewage treatment plants, and sewer services. It maintains a public website with information about water, wastewater and sewage sludge disposal, and publishes news updates about its activities.

• 1999

  ARA Wasserfeld completed in September; initial operation and function tests October–December; in operation since 16 December.

• 1996

  Commissioning and functional checks at ARA Tobl from January to June; plant in operation since 3 July.

• 1995

  Construction of ARA Tobl ends in September.

• 1993

  Construction of ARA Wasserfeld begins in October.

• 1992

  Construction of ARA Sompunt completed.

• 1991

  Construction of ARA Tobl begins.

• 1990

  ARA Sompunt enters operation in January.

• 1989

  Initial operation and functional tests at ARA Sompunt in December.

• 1983

  Planning and construction of ARA Sompunt begins.

Regional wastewater utility operating on behalf of the Pustertal Wastewater Consortium, serving the entire Pustertal Valley with a focus on clean domestic waters and responsible residue disposal.

• Wastewater treatment

  Treatment of wastewater for the entire Pustertal Valley at five sewage treatment plants.

• Waste recycling

  Recycling services offered by the company.

• Disposal of small sewage treatment plants

  Disposal services for small sewage treatment plants.

• Sewer service

  Sewer services provided by the company.

• Sewage sludge drying and incineration

  Operation of a sewage sludge drying and incineration plant.

1. 1ARA Pustertal - operator of the sewage treatment plants and the main collector in Pustertalarapustertal.it
2. 2Building history - ARA Pustertal (Tobl)arapustertal.it
3. 3building history - ARA Pustertal (Sompunt)arapustertal.it
4. 4building history - ARA Pustertal (Wasserfeld)arapustertal.it
5. 5ARA Pustertal AG - Wikidatawikidata.org