EU’s New Urban Wastewater Directive

Urban Wastewater: The EU Gets an Upgrade

Why this matters: the old rules were established back in 1991, a time when environmental concerns and technological capabilities were vastly different from today. Over the past three decades, significant advancements have been made in understanding and managing what we flush, making an update crucial.

To keep our rivers, lakes and seas clean and our environment healthy the EU has overhauled its Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive for the first time in over 30 years. The new rules are smarter, stricter, and built for today’s challenges.

Here’s what’s changing:

✅ Wider Reach: Now covers urban areas with just 1,000 population equivalent (was 2,000).

🚿 Tougher Standards: By 2035, even small towns must have sewer systems and secondary treatment.

📅 Advanced Treatment Deadlines:

• by 2039: Plants >150,000 PE need tertiary treatment (N & P removal)
• 2045: Quaternary treatment (micropollutant removal) becomes mandatory

💸 Polluter Pays Principle: Pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries will fund at least 80% of the cost for micropollutant treatment.

⚡ Energy-Neutral Targets: By 2045, all plants >10,000 PE must be energy self-sufficient using on-site renewables.

⚖️ The new directive mirrors three decades of progress but also rises to meet today’s environmental pressures.

Formal publication is next; EU countries will then have 31 months to adapt national laws.

👉 Look out for our next article on how the REFRAME project could help wastewater treatment plants better comply with the new EU directive.

Sources: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2024/3019/oj; https://environment.ec.europa.eu/news/new-rules-urban-wastewater-management-set-enter-force-2024-12-20_en.