An ecological residual water treatment station was inaugurated at the women's penitentiary in Rusca. The station has been put into operation this spring, Info-Prim Neo reports. Three years ago, the penitentiary became the first institution in Moldova to benefit from the pilot project “Built Wet Zone”, which was supported by the Swiss Water and Sanitation Project. There was built a septic tank and fur horizontal steps of 300 square meters each, which were filled with gravel. Reeds were planted in spring on the areas covered with gravel. The roots of reeds allow air to pass to the gravel layer and prevent clogging. The station can treat the waste produced by 400 persons. As many as 264 women are held at the penitentiary in Rusca. The project was implemented jointly by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, the Austrian Technical Cooperation Program, the Department of Penitentiary Institutions of Moldova, and the administration of the penitentiary. During the inaugural ceremony, Minister of Justice Alexandru Tanase handed over a Merit Cross of the Second Degree to the head of the Swiss Cooperation Office Georgette Bruchez for contribution to developing Moldova's rural areas. Besides the treatment station, the Swiss Water and Sanitation Project helped build a new sewerage system that is 700 meters long. Fifty families living in Rusca village have been connected to it.