This paper deals with wastewater treatment systems placed in motorway service areas (MSAs). In the years 2008-2009 eight of such facilities installed on the stretch of the A2 motorway between Poznań and Nowy Tomyśl were examined and analyzed. The system consists of a septic tank, a submerged aerated biofilter and an outflow filter. The volume of traffic on the highway was analyzed, the amount of water use was measured and peak factors were calculated. On this basis it was concluded that the inflows to the wastewater treatment systems in many cases exceeded the nominal design values.

Based on the analysis of effluent quality it was found that the effects of plant operation in large part did not meet the requirements. It was found that the bioreactor aeration system and the design of the suspension separator (outflow filter) should be modified. One of the solutions was to use the soil-reed bed for wastewater treatment. The treatment of wastewater from the MSAs is a task that must take into account the unusual character of these facilities and the atypical quality of the effluent.