Interesting article in Smart Water Magazine, which looks at the implications of the new EU wastewater directive, approved by the European Parliament in April this year. The Directive covers the treatment requirements for the removal of micropollutants, i.e., substances present in very low concentrations. It proposes their removal through quaternary treatment in Article 8, mandatory […]
A Guardian investigation has spoken to whistleblowers who say UK water companies are knowingly failing to treat legally required amounts of sewage, and that some treatment works are manipulating wastewater systems to divert raw sewage away from the works and into rivers and seas. It is well known that water companies are dumping large volumes […]
The National Engineering Policy Centre has initiated a new project considering engineering interventions to mitigate the public health risks posed by wastewater pollution of rivers, in-land and coastal waters across the UK. Recreational users of natural bodies of water – including rivers, in-land and coastal waters – are potentially at risk from pollution caused by […]
In this Vancouver suburb, innovative technology is harnessing heat from wastewater and using it as a renewable energy source to heat homes. In the midst of winter, the streets of Vancouver will be carpeted with a light layer of snow, punctuated by steaming openings where it has already melted. The access holes to the drains […]
UKWIR (UK Water Industry Research) has published a new report ‘Quantifying and reducing direct greenhouse gas emissions from wastewater treatment processes – Phase 2’. The objective of this project was to start the practical journey for the UK and Irish water industry in the understanding of their process emission of nitrous oxide (N2O) and fugitive […]
The Defra press release highlights UK-wide consultation launched to ban wet wipes containing plastic Proposed ban will tackle plastic pollution in marine environment and reduce microplastics entering wastewater treatment plants Proposal delivers on the UK Government’s Plan for Water, delivering more investment, stronger regulation and tougher enforcement across the water system A consultation on banning wet wipes […]
That is the finding of biologists at Goethe University Frankfurt, who say effluents from wastewater treatment plants have a dual effect: some species disappear, while others increase in number. The impact of effluent is especially noticeable with certain insect species, such as stonefly and caddisfly larvae, which are decimated. By contrast, certain worms and crustaceans, […]
The BBC reports that firefighters are using treated sewage water after droughts. The article actually describes the use of treated and disinfected *wastewater* to put out fires, rather than abstracting from rivers and lakes in areas of water stress.