Resources - Briefing notes

This briefing note describes the various pathways PFAS can take to accumulate in air, soil and plants. It identifies the main contributors of PFAS in waste water and how PFAS can end up in sewage sludge. We demonstrate how only a full PFAS ban can allow for the inclusion of sewage sludge in the circular economy through agricultural application and incineration while encompassing the nutrient recycling potential.

Individual and other Appropriate Systems (IAS) are waste water treatment systems for one or a few households. They are authorised in certain circumstances under the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (UWWTD) and especially when it would be disproportionally expensive to build a sewer network to connect the waste water to a WWTP in a rural area. As the evaluation of the UWWTD revealed, IAS is one of the remaining sources of pollution in urban waters and often because of the lack of control and maintenance over them. However, with a variety of technical solutions, they offer an interesting alternative to municipal collection systems, especially with the European climate neutrality objective for 2050. In this briefing note, we explore how water-related legislation can be improved to ensure that IAS can continue to be part of the available solutions for sustainable waste water management.

Local solutions to managing investment and maintenance needs of waste and storm water will protect people and the environment in an environmentally sustainable and financially feasible way. Integrated waste water and storm water management plans may provide waste water operators and urban planners with a strategy for managing water in the urban environment. Local solutions to managing waste water and storm water systems allow people and the environment to be protected.

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.

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.

Poly-and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a diverse group of synthetic fluorinated compounds. Due to the unique surface active properties and very high chemical and thermal stability, these substances have been widely used in many applications in industries and in products that we use in our daily life. 

The persistent nature of these substances means that they are very resistant to biodegradation and they are now ubiquitous in the environment, including- sometimes - water sources. Their widespread use in long-life domestic products, particularly carpets and furniture, means that it represents a major legacy issue to be managed.

The availability of sufficient and uncontaminated ground- and/or surface water for the production of drinking water is essential to everyone.

The dry summer of 2018 (and for some countries, 2017 too) was a wake-up call for many parts of Europe. This is how drought affects drinking water, and how our sector and governance authorities can respond.

Our sewer networks are unseen arteries beneath our feet, carrying out the vital tasks of providing sanitation and drainage. They connect our homes, offices and industrial sites to waste water treatment plant. To ensure that those networks are fit for purpose today and into the long term, we need to plan, invest, operate and maintain them accordingly. And yet the nature of our sewer networks across Europe and the challenges they face are diverse, and the pressures they are under are evolving.

This document sets out what EurEau sees as sound, but sufficiently flexible management principles to meet this duality of need.

3 million kilometres of sewers spanning Europe transport the 79-307 litres of water each of us uses every day, for drinking, cooking, washing, cleaning and hygiene to a waste water treatment plant. Read more to find out how our sewers keep us safe and healthy. 

Drinking water operators have a long history of cooperation with farmers with a view to reducing agricultural pressures on drinking water resources. 

These cooperation projects encompass various activities: from advising and training farmers to paying minimum income guarantees in case of shifting to an alternative agriculture or even a financial transaction under the condition that pesticides and fertilisers are not applied in a given area.

Climate change will directly and significantly affect water service providers in most parts of Europe, resulting in more frequent or intense periods of drought, heat waves or rain storms, and in more places.

We will all need to be more proactive to prepare for the growing scale of the fallout. This was evident with the intense drought during the spring and summer of 2018 when it became clear that the water sector must get involved in local/regional/national crisis management.

Our sectors’ response to climate change should encompass both mitigation (reducing the impact of water services) and adaptation (become resilient to its effects) measures.

This briefing note focuses on how climate change will impact on our sector, and the ways and means to adapt to these changes based on our current knowledge.

Microplastics are widespread and have been found in marine environments, surface water, in soils, in the air we breathe, in some of the food we eat (shellfish, honey, salt), and even in beer. The number of microplastic particles in groundwater is deemed to be negligible. The potential impact of microplastics on public health and ecosystems is a growing public concern and has been high on the agenda of decision makers for some time. With growing global use of (micro-)plastics, their release to the environment is expected to increase. Our briefing note outlines our concerns, and why we want to see more control at source measures. 

Our Briefing Note demonstrates the impact of persistent, mobile and toxic (PMT) and very persistent, very mobile (vPvM) substances on water services and calls for ambitious regulatory measures to restrict their use. EurEau supports the Council’s call for an action plan to phase out PFAS, some of which are PMT/vPvP substances.

The water sector has made great strides in becoming more energy-friendly. There are, nevertheless, limits to these improvements. Principle factors include local configurations and finding the right balance between environmental objectives, economical feasibility and water services affordability.

Efforts must be supported by policymakers to better address future challenges through an enabling regulatory framework, support for the establishment of financial instruments alongside the unambiguous implementation of the Control at Source Principle to avoid new treatment requirements that consume energy

European policy on micropollutants in surface water and groundwater should be based on the principles of ‘Control-at-Source’ and ‘Polluter-Pays’. The correct use of the source control approach is also essential to protecting human health and achieving a truly circular economy.

In this paper we present some considerations and recommendations to inform and assist decision makers.

The European Parliament's vote on the Drinking Water Directive will affect how much consumers pay for their water bills. We want MEPs to vote to save consumers money. 

In 2015, the European Commission published an Action Plan for the Circular Economy 1 . The accompanying Circular Economy Package with four legislative proposals was adopted in May 2018. EurEau strongly supports both the legislative elements and the action plan of the package. However, the Package lacks effective support measures for the European water sector, especially with regards to market access and financial support for innovative business models to recover materials and generate green energy in drinking water and waste water treatment.

In 2011, a manual and a short guide to the 3Ts was published. This briefing Note updates the existing paper on the 3Ts and provides a snapshot of the way the 3Ts were implemented among EurEau members in 2017.