Micropollutants in Swiss WWTPs: experiences and outlook

Conference «Micropollutants in wastewater treatment plants: Experience and outlook», on the 12th of March 2024 (online, in english) 

Since 2016, selected Swiss wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) will be upgraded with an additional treatment step to remove micropollutants from municipal wastewater. More than 20 WWTPs now have implemented so far such an advanced treatment. It is therefore time to take stock. We look back and learn from previous experience: Which technologies have proved successful? What needs to be considered during operation? How can the treatment performance be monitored? How does the expansion affect the waterways? 

We are also looking into the future with the upgrade of additional WWTPs currently under discussion. This is because politicians are calling for an adaptation of the expansion-criteria to ensure that no substance-specific limit values (e.g. diclofenac) are exceeded in water bodies as a result of discharges from WWTPs. We provide information on the current status of this process.