A recent report from UK Water Industry Research (UKWIR) examines revisions to the European Union’s Urban Wastewater Treatment directive (UWWTD) and considers their implications for the UK water sector.
The report comments that the revised UWWTD “…has the potential to be the largest step-change in wastewater treatment for member states since its predecessor”. It introduces a prescriptive framework for lowering population thresholds for collection systems and secondary treatment systems, together with more stringent and context-independent requirements for nutrient removal, and more widespread limits for chemicals of concern. If the UK decides upon alignment, this will mean similar effects on UK wastewater treatment regulation.
The report also notes that “For the UK, the potential to adopt individual rUWWTD Articles may be appealing to environmental regulators as it helps to ensure that domestic environmental standards remain aligned with those of the EU, avoiding any perception of regulatory regression”. It may also deliver some tangible environmental benefits.
The UKWIR project aimed to assist the water sector in engaging effectively with regulators and policymakers on suitable responses, including in Ireland where the revised directive will be implemented in full. The report focuses in detail on compliance and costs associated with Articles 3, 5, 6, 7, and 8, and identifies overlaps and gaps with current legislation.
Dr Yongqiang Liu, who leads EBNet’s AG WG, said “These changes significantly increase the need both for wastewater treatment provision in general, and for enhanced nutrient recovery systems and quaternary treatment to reduce a broad spectrum of micropollutants”.
Dr Liu led a highly successful EBNet-funded BIV project with Plantwork Systems Ltd (PSL), on Meeting the nutrient neutrality challenge using newly developed biological technology. This collaboration has continued through a co-funded PhD studentship and through PSL’s role as an industrial partner in the BBSRC-funded EBIC project.
The UKWIR report can be obtained from the Research Reports section of UKWIR’s website: see Ref: 26/RG/07/40 ISBN: 978-1-83872-050-6
