Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive

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Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive

• Council Directive 91/271/EEC of 21-05-1991, as
  amended by Commission Directive 98/15/EC of
  27-02-1998

http//europa.eu.int/comm/environment/water
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UWWTD

• Objectives to protect the environment from the
  adverse effects of urban waste water discharges
  discharges from waste water from certain
  industrial (agro-food) sectors
• concerns the collection, treatment and discharge
  of urban waste water and treatment discharge of
  waste water from above industrial sectors

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Objectives

• Emission-oriented legislation
• Sewerage and waste water treatment in all
  agglomerations gt 2000 p.e.
• Biological treatment as standard requirement
• Additional N and/or P removal in sensitive
  areas
• Provisions for certain industrial discharges to
  urban waste water collecting systems and uwwtps
• Provisions for certain industrial discharges
  (from agro-food industry lt 4000p.e.) to water
  bodies
• Provisions for sustainable disposal of sewerage
  sludge
• Waste water re-use whenever appropriate
• Transboundary issues

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Articles of the directive

• 1. Scope
• 2. Definitions
• 3. Obligation to provide sewerage systems gt 2000
  p.e.
• 4. Obligations to provide waste water treatment gt
  2000 p.e.
• 5. Sensitive areas gt 10000 p.e.
• 6. Less sensitive areas
• 7. Waste water treatment lt 2000 p.e.
• 8. Derogation options
• 9. Water pollution from/to other MS
• 10. Design, construction, operation and
  maintenance of treatment plants

11. Industrial waste water discharges to urban
systems 12. Permit procedure for plants/
discharges 13. Industrial waste water discharges
to waters 14. Phasing out of sludge dumping 15.
Monitoring 16. Situation reports by MS 17.
Implementation programmes 18. Committee 19.
Transposition 20. Annexes (I, II, III)
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Sewerage (collecting systems)

• Waste water treatment to be taken into account in
  design, construction and maintenance of
  collecting systems
• Design, construction and maintenance in
  accordance with best technical knowledge and
  cost-benefit considerations, notably regarding
• volume and characteristics of wastewater
• prevention leaks in collecting systems
• pollution from stormwater overflows
• Deadlines
• 1998 (gt10000p.e.)
• 2000 (gt15000p.e.
• 2005 (between 2000 and 15000p.e.)

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Treatment objectives

• Basically secondary treatment (i.e. biological
  treatment involving organic carbon removal)
• Additional N and P removal (advanced
  treatment) in so-called sensitive areas, i.e.
  basically water bodies being eutrophic or tending
  to be eutrophic
• Exceptions possible in so called less-sensitive
  areas, i.e. certain marine areas, and in high
  mountain areas

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Sensitive areas

• Water body (WB) must be identified as a sensitive
  area if it falls into one of the following
  groups
• Natural freshwater lakes and other freshwater
  bodies, estuaries and coastal waters that are
  eutrophic or which in the near future may become
  eutrophic if protective action is not taken
• For freshwater bodies removal of P, and for big
  agglo. removal of N , unless
• For estuaries, bays and other coastal waters
  removal of P and/or P, unless
• Surface freshwaters intended for abstraction of
  drinking water which could contain more than 50
  mg/l concentration of nitrate (75/440/EEC)
• Areas where further treatment than secondary is
  necessary to fulfil Council Directives

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Secondary treatment - NA

• Either the concentration or the percentage of
  reduction shall apply
• 24-hours samples (Annex I D)
• Minimum annual number of samples depending on
  size of treatment plant, plus maximum number of
  non-complying samples (table 3)
• Maximum deviation of single sample 100 (BOD,
  COD) and 150 (SS)
• Deadlines 2000, 2005

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Advanced treatment - SA

• Either concentration or the percentage of
  reduction shall apply. One or both parameters are
  to be applied depending on local conditions
• Total N org.N NH3/NH4-N NO2-N NO3-N
• Annual mean of samples to comply
• Deadline - 1998

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Requirements for Urban waste water treatment
plant (UWWTP)

• UWWTP built to comply requirements laid down in
  art.3, 4, 5, 6, 7
• UWWTPs are designed, constructed, operated and
  maintained to ensure sufficient performance under
  all normal local climatic conditions
• When designing UWWTP, seasonal variations of the
  load shall be taken into account

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Industrial waste water discharges to urban
waste water collecting systems

• Prior regulation and/or specific authorisation
• Pre-treatment as is required (Annex I, C)
• to protect health of maintenance personnel in
  sewerage systems and treatment plant
• to avoid damage to collecting systems and
  treatment plants
• to avoid treatment plant operation and sludge
  treatment being impeded
• to avoid adverse impacts of discharges to the
  environment, no impact on receiving waters not
  complying with other Community Directives
• to ensure a safe disposal of sewerage sludge in
  an environmentally acceptable manner

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Industrial waste water discharges to water
bodies

• Applying only to certain industries (agro-food
  ind.) above a threshold of 4 000 p.e.
• Subject to prior regulation and/or specific
  authorisation
• Setting of appropriate requirements by Member
  States in permits
• Comparison of MSs requirements by the Commission

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Industrial waste water discharges to water
bodies industrial sectors

• Alcohol and alcoholic beverages
• Animal feed from plant products
• Gelatine, glue from hides, skin and bones
• Malt-houses
• Fish-processing

• Milk-processing
• Fruit and vegetable products
• Soft drinks
• Potato-processing
• Meat industry
• Breweries

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Directives important deadlines

• 31/12/1993 transposition of the directive,
  implementation programs
• 31/12/1998 SA, more stringent treatment for gt
  10 000p.e.
• disposal of sludge to surface waters
  is phased out
• 31/12/2000 NA, secondary treatment for gt15
  000p.e.
• 31/12/2005 appropriate treatment for lt 2
  000p.e. (if waste water is collected)
• collecting systems in place for aggl.
  between 2 000 and 15 000p.e.
• secondary treatment in
  place for all discharges from aggl. between 10
  000 and 15 000p.e. and
• secondary treatment in
  place for discharges from aggl. between 2 000 and
  10 000p.e. to
• fresh-water and estuaries
• Transitional periods for EU-10 different for
  each of EU-10!

Art.19, 17 Art. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
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Sensitive areas - EU-25
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Transitional periods for Czech Republik


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Thank you for the attention