Our Publications

This briefing note on nutrients and waste water management summarises how nutrients are currently managed within waste water and proposes ideas about the future of nutrient management within waste water management.

In the framework of new Commission policy work to protect public health and the environment, certain sectors, and in particular the chemical industry, are promoting a new ‘Innovation Principle’ next to the Precautionary Principle.

EurEau strongly supports innovation in our sector. However, we do not agree that the approach of BREFs as defined under the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) suits the context of the UWWTD. Innovation and affordability of water services are best supported by an UWWTD which establishes output requirements with clear indications of enhanced performance requirements to achieve specific protection of the environment and public health, rather than prescribed instruments.

Effective asset management of water supply infrastructure and management of water losses from the distribution system are critical parts of the water suppliers’ role.

An agreed EU framework for calculating a water balance is a critical first step in leakage management under the 2020 Drinking Water Directive. Leakage reduction is a tool for addressing water scarcity in many parts of Europe, cuts Greenhouse Gas emissions and resource use. The water sector is committed to reducing these to enhance sustainability.

The current regulatory framework for sludge is set across a number of different instruments at EU level, which tend to focus on the waste dimension rather than on the reuse of the valuable resources. Waste water operators already render the valuable resources found in sludge to be reusable. However, a regulatory framework is needed to support sustainable and resilient sludge management, incorporating a broader scope for risk assessment and strict sludge quality control.

This briefing note details the current arrangement for the management of sludge that comes from waste water treatment. It will inform the reader of the existing solutions for sludge and gives a sound vision of the future and appropriate directions. It is based on EurEau members’ experience as waste water operators.

PFAS are a group of contaminants that have gained increased attention due to their potential to bio-accumulate, their environmental persistence, potential toxicity and, for many of them, high water solubility. They have been found in all environmental compartments, including wildlife and humans. Studies have identified waste water treatment plants as a pathway for PFAS to the environment. PFAS are a growing concern especially in relation to water resources used for the abstraction of drinking water.

Preventing PFAS from entering WWTP through control-at-source measures is the only way to avoid PFAS from being released to the (aquatic) environment through this pathway. A ban of all non-essential uses might be a first step. However, a coherent regulatory framework with clear instruments covering all persistent, mobile, toxic (PMT) and very persistent, very mobile (vPvM) substances needs to be in place to prevent and limit the emission of these substances to the water cycle.

This Profile of the German Water Sector 2020 gives an updated overview of water supply and wastewater disposal in Germany. It enables the interested public and policy makers to learn all about the services the sector provides, the diversity of tasks it undertakes, and the current challenges it is facing. The 2020 Water Sector Profile demonstrates that the modernisation strategy, pursued by politicians and the water sector alike, remains effective even under increasingly difficult conditions.

European waste water service providers see the revision of the 1991 Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (UWWTD) as an opportunity to develop an ambitious, innovative, supportive and straight-forward new policy framework enabling operators to meet the Green Deal goals and make waste water collection, treatment and management fit for the decades to come.

New objectives to be delivered must consider the affordability of water services. This includes the long life-cycle of waste water collection and treatment assets and their inherent inflexibility for adaptation or upgrading.

The aim of this paper is to set our general expectations and point at areas to be covered by the impact assessment. Detailed positions or notes on specific topics will be delivered in due course.