Romania’s village wins prize for natural wastewater system
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The Mihai Eminescu Trust Foundation received the Water Resilience prize at the 2026 New European Bauhaus Prizes for its ECO H2O project in Viscri, Romania.
The European Commission identified ECO H2O as Romania’s first nature-based wastewater system in a rural area. The Mihai Eminescu Trust designed and constructed a treatment plant that uses three reed-planted ponds to purify wastewater naturally, relying on bacteria and gravity instead of pumps, electricity, or chemicals.
Before the ECO H2O system was built in 2010, Viscri residents discharged wastewater into ditches, streams, or septic tanks, which posed health risks and threatened the village’s historic buildings. The plant now serves around 500 residents and the approximately 60,000 tourists who visit Viscri each year. Caroline Fernolend, president of the Mihai Eminescu Trust, explained the project demonstrates that wastewater treatment can be simple, affordable, and integrated into the natural landscape.
The Viscri Orthodox Parish contributed land for the project, and Bunești town hall now manages the system. Local residents and volunteers assisted with planting reeds and continue to maintain the vegetation. The Mihai Eminescu Trust believes similar lagoon-based systems could work for rural communities with up to 2,000 residents and is offering its expertise to other municipalities interested in building similar wastewater treatment solutions.
