Quality of re-used water in the European Union BluePrint . one - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Quality of re-used water in the European Union

BluePrint

……. one alternative supply option — water re-use for irrigation or industrial purposes — has emerged as an issue requiring EU

• attention. Re-use of water ……..is only used

to a limited extent in the EU. This appears to be due to the lack of common EU environmental/health standards for re-used water and the potential obstacles to the free movement of agricultural products irrigated with reused water. The Commission will look into the most suitable EU-level instrument to encourage water re-use, including a regulation establishing common standards. ……, to ensure the maintenance of a high level of public health and environmental protection in the EU.

Circular Economy

…….. the reuse of treated wastewater in safe and cost-effective conditions is a valuable but under-used means of increasing water supply and alleviating pressure on over-exploited water resources in the EU. Water reuse in agriculture also contributes to nutrients recycling by substitution of solid fertilisers. The Commission will take a series of actions to promote the reuse of treated wastewater, including legislation on minimum requirements for reused water.

Council Conclusions

EMPHASISES that water re-use, in addition to other water saving and efficiency measures, can be an important instrument to address water scarcity and to adapt to climate change as part of integrated water management; CALLS ON the Members States to take measures to promote water re-use practices, taking into account regional conditions where appropriate and whilst ensuring a high level of protection for human health and the environment, as water re-use can also deliver benefits in terms of economic savings, environmental protection, stimulating investments in new technologies and creating green jobs; STRESSES that well-treated urban waste water can be re-used for a variety of purposes in the agricultural sector, industrial applications, sustainable urban development and protection of ecosystems; and NOTES with interest the intention of the Commission to present in 2017 a proposal on minimum quality requirements for reused water in the EU

Relevant Directives

91/271/EEC – Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (UWWTD) 91/676/EEC – Nitrates Directive 98/83/EEC – Drinking Water Directive (DWD) 2000/60/EC – Water Framework Directive (WFD) 2006/118/EC – Groundwater Directive (GWD) 2008/105/EC – Environmental Quality Standards Directive (EQSD) (as amended by 2013/39/EC)

Minimum Quality Standards

Objective of the technical document: Develop minimum quality requirements for water reuse in:

• Agricultural Irrigation
• Aquifer recharge
• Ensure a high level of health and

environmental protection

• Ensure full consistency with EU regulatory

framework

• Guarantee feasibility

Minimum Quality Standards

Focus: Wastewater covered under the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive, namely:

• Urban Wastewater
• Industrial wastewater from the industrial sectors listed under Annex

III of the UWWTD Use-Categories: Considers only agriculture irrigation and aquifer recharge for reclaimed water use.

• Agriculture irrigation includes non-food crops, processed and other

food crops and food crops eaten raw; and

• Aquifer recharge includes direct and indirect recharge of aquifers.

Minimum Quality Standards

Technical document which:

• Stipulates the water quality parameters to be monitored and

establishes quality limits,

• Includes preventive measures for minimising health and

environmental risks as well as monitoring requirements,

• Promotes human health,
• Promotes protection of the environmental matrices (like soil,

biota, surface water and groundwater),

• Takes into account existing relevant EU legislation, and
• Is expected to support EU legislation on water reuse.

Minimum Quality Standards

Proposal developed by the Joint Research Centre (JRC), with consideration to:

• Experts consultation (on a voluntary basis)
• Stakeholder comments
• Scientific Committee on Health, Environmental and Emerging

Risks (SCHEER) consultation

• European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) consultation

Proposal is still under development by JRC.

Reclaimed Water Mgmt Framework

Risk Assessment Health risk assessment Health outcome targets Water quality targets Performance targets Specified technology targets Environmental risk assessment Preventive measures and multiple barrier approach Monitoring Validation Operational Verification

Risk Assessment

Health and environmental risks of agriculture irrigation with reclaimed water

• Health risks (consumers, workers, nearby communities)
• Livestock risks and related human risks
• Environmental matrices risks

Health and environmental risks of aquifer recharge with reclaimed water

• Drinking water, the most stringent potential use
• Environmental matrices risks

Preventive Measures

Preventive Measures

• Common preventive measures for agricultural irrigation and

aquifer recharge

• Preventive measures specific for agriculture irrigation
• Preventive measures specific for aquifer recharge

Common preventive measures:

• Control of distribution systems
• Water sources protection
• Control of access and buffer zones
• Control of groundwater quality

Monitoring

Tolerable Risk 10-6 DALYs per person per year (health-outcome target) Reclaimed water monitoring

• Microbiological parameters
• Physico-chemical parameters

Monitoring

Reclaimed water quality criteria (common for all uses)

• Compliance with UWWTD (91/271/EC)
• Do not compromise the fulfilment of the EQSD (2008/115/EC)
• Point of compliance: final reclaimed water effluent after the

adequate treatment, and point of application:

• At the irrigation point for agricultural irrigation
• After the vadose zone for aquifer recharge by surface spreading
• At the injection point for aquifer recharge by direct injection

Microbiological Parameters

Reference pathogens (optional for validation monitoring)

• Campylobacter
• Enterovirus
• Cryptosporidium

Indicator microorganisms (validation monitoring for all uses and verification monitoring for certain uses)

• Bacteria
• Viruses
• Protozoa

Physico-chemical parameters

Common physico-chemical parameters for some categories of use

• f agricultural irrigation and aquifer recharge for verification

and/or for operational monitoring.

• TSS
• Turbidity
• Other operational parameters
• Physico-chemical parameters for agricultural irrigation
• Physico-chemical parameters for aquifer recharge

Agriculture irrigation

Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD5) Chemical Oxygen Demand Agronomic Parameters: TDS, Sodium, Chloride, Boron, Nitrate, Bicarbonate, pH Aluminium, Arsenic, Beryllium, Cadmium, Cobalt, Chromium, Copper, Fluoride, Iron, Lithium, Manganese, Molybdenum, Nickel, Lead, Selenium, Tin, Tungsten, Titanium, Vanadium, Zinc Other chemical parameters:

• Directive 86/7/EC
• Stricter national limits
• Annex II and III of Directive 91/676/EEC

Aquifer Recharge

Total Organic Carbon Threshold value approach from Groundwater Directive

• Nitrates
• Active substances in pesticides and relevant metabolites
• Conductivity
• Heavy Metals

Compounds of emerging concern (Biocides, Hormones, Pharmaceuticals, Veterinary drugs, Personal Care Products)

• N-Nitrosodimethylamine, PFOS, PFOA, 1,4-Dioxane,

Tolylfluanide/DMSA, MTBE, Glyphosate/AMPA AMR/ARG

Bioassays

Considering that target analyses is insufficient to cover main risks, and that hundreds of substances can potentially be tested, the use

• f bioassays (combined effects monitoring) is proposed in the

document. The use of the following validated, commercial bioassays and effect-based trigger values is proposed for:

• Estrogenic (ERα)
• Androgenic (AR)
• Progestagenic (PR)
• Glucocrticoid (GR)

AMR/ARG

Antimicrobial resistances and antibiotic resistance genes

• Emerging thread also via wastewater, although so far no hard

evidence was found that this is an issue for water reuse

• Of concern in some Member States
• Proposal to use as optional approach the cefotaxime resistance
• f E. Coli
• Good indicator of human sources of antibiotic resistances
• E.Coli is a common harbour to acquired ARGs
• Wide-spread
• Of clinical concern
• Associated with other AMRs

Public Consultation

https://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/W aterReusepublicconsult

Public Consultation

• 1. Perceptions of the benefits of and barriers to water reuse
• Potential Benefits of water reuse in agriculture irrigation
• Potential benefits of water reuse in aquifer recharge
• Main barriers to a wider uptake of water reuse solutions

in agriculture irrigation

• Main barriers to a wider uptake of water reuse solutions

in aquifer recharge

• Types of water sources currently used for agriculture

irrigation and groundwater recharge

Public Consultation

• 2. EU Minimum Quality Requirements for water reuse
• Instrument to be used to set EU minimum quality requirements

for water reuse in agriculture irrigation

• Instrument to be used to set EU minimum quality requirements

for water reuse in aquifer recharge

• Specific objectives to be addressed by EU minimum quality

requirements for water reuse in agriculture irrigation

• Specific objectives to be addressed by EU minimum quality

requirements for water reuse in aquifer recharge

• Specific aspects to be covered by EU minimum quality

requirements for water reuse in agriculture irrigation

• Specific aspects to be covered by EU minimum quality

requirements for water reuse in aquifer recharge

• Other uses of treated waste water to be covered under the EU

minimum quality requirements for water reuse

Thank you for your attention

Credits: EU Joint Research Centre CIS Ad-hoc Task Group on Water Reuse