The Council and the European Parliament reached an agreement this Monday improving processing and reuse urban wastewater, In addition to expanding the scope of application of the directive, it is being extended to cover a greater concentration of agglomerates, which in addition to protecting the environment also includes the protection of human health and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
text interim agreementThis law, which must be formally adopted by both institutions, strikes a balance between the different proposals by improving the ambition for the collection and treatment of urban wastewater and at the same time giving Member States some flexibility in its implementation.
Negotiators agreed on an implementation secondary treatment –removal of biodegradable organic matter– to urban wastewater before discharge into the environment in all communities 1,000 population equivalent (pe) or more 2035. Population equivalents are defined as: Organic load produced by a person every day in a normal house.
In 2039, EU countries will have to guarantee the implementation of tertiary treatment –removal of nitrogen and phosphorus– In all facilities covering 150,000 pe or more and in installations covering 10,000 pe by 2045. Additional treatment (quaternary treatment), which removes a wide range of micropollutants, will be mandatory for all plants larger than 10,000 pe in 2045.
The agreed text is the Member States’ reuse of treated wastewater All feasible urban wastewater treatment plants, especially in areas where water is scarce. Measures for reuse should be taken into account in national water resistance strategies.
Better monitoring and reduction of emissions
Negotiators also want Strengthening monitoring of various public health parameters chemical pollutants (such as SARS-CoV-2 virus and variants, polio viruses, influenza viruses, and emerging pathogens), as well as chemical pollutants “chemicals forever” and microplastics. Antimicrobial resistance will also be monitored in urban wastewater resulting from clusters of 100,000 pe or more.
They also emphasized that the urban wastewater treatment sector should play an important role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and helping the EU achieve its climate neutrality target, and therefore its energy neutrality target.
Treatment plants must increasingly use renewable energy
Like this, Urban wastewater treatment plants will increasingly need to increase the proportion of renewable energy used every year: 20% in 2030; 40% in 2035; 70% in 2040 and 100% in 2045.
Polluters will pay more
In accordance with the “polluter pays” principle, negotiators Extended producer liability for medicinal products for human use and cosmetic productsIn order to cover the costs of additional treatment (quaternary treatment) for the removal of micropollutants from urban wastewater.
The agreement stipulates that at least 80% of the costs will be borne by manufacturers, complemented by national funding to prevent undesirable consequences on the availability, affordability and accessibility of vital products, especially medicines.
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