Slide 1

UWWT as one of the main directives of the water protection regime of the EU

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Slide 2

Comprehensive overview on the outline of the presentation

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Slide 3

• The UWWT Directive was adopted in reaction to increasing evidence that

waste water discharges contributed considerably to the pollution not only

of rivers but also of the marine environment, for example of the North Sea.

• Following a Council Resolution of 1988, legislation was relatively swift and

uncontroversial.

• There have been only a few amendments.

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• The Commission itself describes it as a „key element“ of EU water policy.

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• The UWWT Directive contains 20 articles and 3 annexes.

• Articles 3 and 4 oblige Member States to provide for a collecting system and

secondary treatment for urban waste water from agglomerations with 2,000

population equivalents (roughly = inhabitants) or more.

• The obligation under Art. 5 to identify sensitive areas where more stringent

treatment has to be ensured is dispensable if a Member State has defined

its whole national territory as sensitive – which 15 MS have done.

• For smaller agglomerations only „appropriate“ treatment has to be ensured.

• For extension of deadlines see slide 14.

• Art. 10 contains the quality definition for treatment plants: They should be

designed, constructed, operated and maintained to ensure sufficient

performance under all normal local climatic conditions; „sufficient“ meaning

that they comply with the treatment standards set in Art. 4, 5, 6 and 7.

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Slide 5

• Art. 11 and 12, similarly to the IPPC Directive (now IED) and the Waste

Framework Directive, subject the discharge of industrial waste water and

the disposal of waste water from UWWT plants to prior regulation and/or

specific authorization.

• Art. 13 is a special rule for direct discharges from the industrial sectors to

which the UWWT Directive applies (essentially the food industry). They

have to respect, since the year 2000, the conditions established in prior

regulations or specific authorizations.

• The rules for sewage sludge disposal comprise e.g. the phasing-out of the

discharge of sludge into surface waters. Deadlines have expired already in

1998.

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Slide 6

• Among the 3 annexes, Annex I is by far the longest and most important. It

specifies requirements for collecting systems, discharges from treatment

plants, industrial waste water and reference methods for monitoring and

evaluation of results.

• In this Annex I there are 3 tables: Table 1 defines parameters, concentration

values of discharges, minimum percentages of reduction and measurement

methods. Table 2 contains further requirements for discharges into sensitive

areas. Table 3 concerns sampling.

• Annex II specifies criteria for identification of sensitive areas and less

sensitive areas.

• Annex III lists the industrial sectors to which the Directive applies, i.e.

different types of food processing.

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Slide 7

Readers may wonder why the scope of the Directive does not extend to other

industrial waste water than that of the food industry. Here it is important to

understand that the UWWT Directive concentrates on the pollution with

biodegradable waste water which is quantitavely most important and

responsible for the eutrophication of rivers and seas. The objective in Art. 1,

however, is phrased in more general terms.

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Slide 8

• Definitions of key terms are contained mainly in Article 2. More detailed explanations can be found

in a guidance document of 2007 published on the website of the Commission (see slide 18).

• The definition of „agglomeration“ in Art. 2.4 is factual and should not be identified with

administrative entities (city, town or other local authority area). The boundaries may or may not

correspond to the boundaries of such a municipality.

• The idea behind the definition of „population equivalent“ (p.e.) is that the biodegradation of organic

waste water uses up oxygen because of biochemical processes that involve bacteria. P.e. roughly

equals the waste water produced by one inhabitant but the standardized definition takes into

account the non-resident population, i.e. commuters working in a city, tourists etc., and also the

industries covered by the Directive.

• „Individual and other appropriate systems“ means systems especially in rural and not so densely

populated areas where there is no collecting system because it would involve excessive costs, but

a small treatment plant, or where the waste water is transported by vehicles to the next regular

treatment plant.

• Primary treatment essentially stands for physical and/or chemical treatment involving settlement of

suspended solids. „Secondary“ signifies biological treatment. There may be more advanced stages

of treatment, especially by some chemical reaction, like denitrification, nitrification, phosphorus

precipitation, cleaning with activated carbons, etc.

• Sensitive areas are not defined in Art. 2 but explained by the criteria in Annex II. They comprise in

particular eutrophic fresh-water bodies or those in danger of eutrophication, as well as sources of

drinking water and other areas which have to comply with special requirements, such as bathing

waters, natural habitats, fish waters under the respective EU directives.

• Less sensitive areas conversely are those which are not likely to be adversely affected, e.g. open

bays and other coastal waters with a good water exchange.

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Slide 9

shows an agglomeration served by two different UWWT plants, one of which

discharges into a sensitive area and its catchment area. The other one

discharges into two waterbodies which are classified here as normal areas but,

since they are open coastal waters, might also fall under the category of less

sensitive areas.

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Slide 10

• Note that the number of waste water population equivalents in the EU is

somewhat higher than the number of EU inhabitants (approx. 500 millions).

This is due in particular to the size of the food-processing industry in

Europe.

• The connection and performance rates of sewer systems and waste water

treatment look quite high in these statistics but one should be aware that the

percentages are calculated only for those 18 Member States (of 27) that

reported to the Commission with a complete dataset in the years 2005-6.

Several old MS did not report properly (IT, ES, GR, UK, IE), as well as 4 of

the new ones (CZ, PL, MT, BG). Especially those countries account for a

considerable number of agglomerations without an extensive collection

system and/or without the necessary standard of treatment.

• At least one of the EU capitals – Bucharest – will have a fully operational

treatment plant for its waste water only from this year, 2012.

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Slide 11

See text to slide 10 and describe slide.

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Slide 12

See text to slide 10.

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• For old as well as new Member States there is a sophisticated system of

deadlines in place which depends 1) on the size of the agglomeration (with

priority for bigger cities, i.e. major polluters) and 2) on the sensitivity of the

waterbody in which the waste water is discharged.

• For the old MS (EU-15) all deadlines have expired long ago, the latest in

2005.

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Slide 14

• For the new Member States (EU-12) the deadlines depend on the individual

rules fixed in the Treaties of Accession.

• Whereas MT, LT, CZ and EE have to comply fully with the acquis

communautaire in waste water law already now, others still have some

years in which to fulfil their last obligations.

• The most important date here is the end of 2015, but Romania has still

some years in addition.

• For more detailed information on deadlines see the Commission website at

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/water/water-

urbanwaste/legislation/deadlines/index_en.htm

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Slide 15

• Eutrophication of rivers and lakes, as well as overflows in case of heavy

rainfall are problems that occur even in countries with a comprehensive

network of treatments plants, like Germany. The rainfall problems are likely

to increase with climate change.

• According to the European Court of Auditors (Special Report No. 3/2009,

„The effectiveness of structural measures spending on waste water

treatment for the 1994-99 and 2000-06 programme periods“, at p. 12), a

total of 13.9 billion euros was allocated by the EU for the 2007-13

programme period on the construction of UWW treatment plants, with the

12 new MS accounting for 9.1 bn. €.

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Slide 16

• For details of the discussion see e.g. the document „Terms and Definitions

of the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive 91/271/EEC“ of January

2007 (published on the Commission website, see slide 18).

• One particularly difficult provision is contained in Art. 5 which allows for an

alternative to the stringent regime for sensitive areas: Under Art. 5.4 the

requirements for individual plants in sensitive areas need not apply where it

can be shown that the minimum percentage of reduction of the overall load

entering all UWWT plants in that area is at least 75% for phosphorus and

the same for nitrogen. The determination of that reduction rate is quite

difficult and controversial and also targeted in cases before the European

Court of Justice.

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Slide 17

• WISE stands for „Water Information System for Europe“; see Commission

website (slide 18).

• The financial data are taken from the Commission website, e.g. the last

implementation report of 2009 and the flyer on the UWWT Directive at

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/water/water-urbanwaste/info/index_en.htm.

Cf. also notes to slide 15.

• The Commission is currently looking at the UWWT Directive, among others,

in an exercise called „Fitness Check of EU Freshwater Policy“. For more

information and possibilities of consultation see Commission website at

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/water/blueprint/fitness_en.htm.

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Slide 18

Overview on useful sources for further information

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