Milan, 11 April 2024 – 12.49pm (Last update: 05/11/2024 – 5.06pm)
Waters (Regulations on site)
(Alessandro Geremei)
Keywords: Treatments | Waters | Permissions | Controls / Inspections | Limits / Thresholds
The proposal for a directive was definitively approved by the European Council on 5 November 2024 pushes on advanced treatment obligations, increases the number of pollutants to monitor and promotes the reuse of urban wastewater.
Among the main innovations of the proposed directive which, once it comes into force, will replace the historic directive 1999/271/EC (implemented in Italy by Part III of Legislative Decree 152/2006), the new road map for the entry into force of secondary treatment obligations (by 2035 in all agglomerations with a size of at least one thousand equivalent inhabitants), tertiary (2039 in systems that cover more than 150 thousand equivalent inhabitants) and quaternary (an absolute novelty in systems that cover more than 150 thousand equivalent inhabitants will have to implement by 2045).
Also tight on the rules for monitoring of various public health parameters concerning chemical pollutants (including so-called “eternal chemicals” such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, orPfas“), microplastics, pathogens (such as viruses and bacteria) and antimicrobial resistance. There is also an obligation for Member States to promote the reuse of treated wastewater, particularly in areas subject to water stress.
After the definitive green light from the EU Council (the approval from Parliament had already arrived in April), the measure moves towards publication on the Guue. The Member States will have 31 months to implement the new indications.
reference documents Surface water, groundwater and urban wastewater: the new rules being studied by the EU
The process of rewriting European rules on the protection and management of water is underway. The innovations affect the quality of surface and groundwater as well as the collection and treatment of waste water. In the in-depth analysis, the main elements of interest for operators contained in the two European Union directives on the subject, in their latest version of November 2024.
