European Union
European Union
-%
97 - 100%
95 - 97%
85 - 95%
70 - 85%
0 - 70%
Overview: urban waste water production and its treatment
Collection and treatment of waste water are key to reducing pressures and risks to human health and the environment, especially to rivers, lakes, and coastal waters. 82% of Europe’s urban waste waters are collected and treated in line with EU standards.
In - countries, households and certain industries in - urban areas generate - million p.e. of waste water every day, which is an amount equivalent to around - million bathtubs or - million m3.
Urban waste water needs to be treated before discharge, in order to avoid pollution to the environment. In - countries, urban waste water is treated in - plants across the country before it is discharged.
Figure 1
Number of treatment plants by type of treatment
-
Biological treatment with - removal
-
Biological treatment
-
Primary treatment
Map view 1: Zoom in to check the treatment plant of your interest (pop up window with detailed information opens when clicking on a point in the map)
Footnotes
Figure 2
Amount of urban waste water which is required to be collected and treated according to the UWWTD
Amount of waste water (in million p.e.)
-
Total generated
-
Collection
-
Biological treatment
-
Biological treatment with - removal
What are the targets for urban waste water collection and treatment for all EU countries?
According to the UWWTD, EU countries are required to provide in urban areas:
- Collection of - million p.e. of waste water
- Biological treatment to - million p.e. of waste water
- Biological treatment with - removal to - million p.e. of waste water
For - million p.e. of urban waste water, individual systems (e.g. domestic treatment plants; septic tanks) are applied instead of centralised collecting systems and treatment plants. This alternative is allowed by the legislation, as long as the environment is adequately protected.
In addition, - million p.e. of urban waste water do not need biological treatment, because this is waste water discharged into coastal areas from smaller urban areas (below 10,000 p.e.). This alternative is allowed by the legislation, provided that the waste water undergoes appropriate treatment meeting the quality objectives of the receiving waters.
Moreover, for - million p.e. of urban waste water, biological treatment is not needed because this is waste water discharged into less sensitive areas.
This is why the amount of urban waste water that needs biological treatment (- million p.e.) is lower than the collected urban waste water (- million p.e).
The urban waste water that needs biological treatment with nitrogen and phosphorus removal (- million p.e.) is lower than the collected urban waste water (- million p.e.), because this type of treatment is necessary only for larger urban areas (over 10,000 p.e.), discharging into sensitive areas.
Have EU countries met the targets for urban waste water collection and treatment?
EU countries need to make further efforts to provide:
- - 0 million p.e of urban waste water (-%)
- - 0 million p.e of urban waste water (-%)
- - - removal to additional 0 million p.e. of urban waste water (-%)
Figure 3
Amount of urban waste water which still needs to be collected or treated according to the requirements of the UWWTD
Distance to target in million p.e.
Note: Target shown is the sum of targets for 27 EU Member States. There is no overall target for the EU
The compliance of the total generated load in the EU countries is 82%. This differs from the average EU compliance value of 75.8% shown in Fig 4 on the country profiles, because that value is the average of the load from compliant agglomerations in 27 Member States.
Map view 2: Zoom in to check if urban waste water in the urban area of your interest is collected and treated according to the requirements of the UWWTD
(pop up window with detailed information opens when clicking on a point in the map)
What progress have - countries made in meeting their targets for urban waste water collection and treatment?
Between 2014 and 2018, - countries:
- - their distance from the required target for collection of urban waste water
- have increased their distance from the required target for biological treatment of urban waste water
- - the required target for biological treatment of urban waste water with - removal
Figure 4
Recent trends in the amount of urban waste water which is not collected or treated according to the requirements of the UWWTD
Distance to target in million p.e.
Collection
Biological treatment
Biological treatment with - removal
Do - countries reuse treated urban waste water?
Is there a decrease in greenhouse gas emissions by the urban waste water treatment sector in - countries?
In -, emissions of greenhouse gases by the urban waste water treatment sector have - by -% between - and 2019.
Figure 6
Trends in emission of greenhouse gases by the urban waste water treatment sector
Kt CO2 eq
How do - countries protect their most sensitive waters from algal blooms?
Too much nitrogen or phosphorus in water can cause algal blooms. This may affect fish, bathers and the wider environment negatively.
- countries designated - of their territory as sensitive areas and decided to apply more stringent treatment with nitrogen and/or phosphorus removal. Further, details on the applied treatment per sensitive area are presented in individual country profiles and the map below.
Map view 4: Zoom in to check if the treatment plant in the urban area of your interest discharges into a sensitive area
(pop up window with detailed information opens when clicking on a point in the map)
Areas characterised as sensitive for "other" reasons include surface freshwaters intended for the abstraction of drinking water, which could have higher nitrate concentration compared to the relevant EU legislation if action is not taken, as well as areas where more stringent treatment is necessary compared to the UWWTD requirements to fulfil the requirements of other EU legislation.
By implementing the Water Framework Directive, countries have assessed the quality of national waters, including surface water bodies (e.g. rivers, lakes, transitional and coastal waters) and groundwater bodies. In addition, they have identified the pressures that contribute to less than good water quality (i.e. poor chemical status or less than good ecological status for their surface water bodies, and poor chemical status for their groundwater bodies).
Figure 7
Percentage of different water body types having less than good water quality, and being affected significantly by discharges of urban waste water, discharges from unconnected dwellings and storm water overflows in the latest RBMPs
Percentage of surface water bodies (%) or groundwater bodies area (%)
Are waste water discharges a significant pressure for waters in - countries?
According to the latest River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs) in -:
- Discharges of urban waste water contribute significantly to less than good water quality in:
- 0% of river water bodies
- 0% of lake water bodies
- 0% of transitional water bodies
- 0% of coastal water bodies
- 0% of groundwater bodies area
- Discharges of waste water from unconnected dwellings contribute significantly to less than good water quality in:
- 0% of river water bodies
- 0% of lake water bodies
- 0% of transitional water bodies
- 0% of coastal water bodies
- 0% of groundwater bodies area
- Discharges of storm water overflows contribute significantly to less than good water quality in:
- 0% of river water bodies
- 0% of lake water bodies
- 0% of transitional water bodies
- 0% of coastal water bodies
- 0% of groundwater bodies area
Is there an increase in the number of monitored bathing water sites with excellent water quality in - countries?
The monitored bathing water sites with excellent water quality in - have - between 2010 (- sites) and - (- sites).
It is noted that bathing water sites are not necessarily affected by direct discharges of urban waste water. Therefore, observed water quality problems can also be related to other activities.
Figure 8
Progress in the number of monitored bathing water sites having excellent water quality in recent years
Number of monitored bathing water sites
You may check the status of the bathing waters of - by clicking on the link and selecting the country from the available list.
More information
Data sources used in the Country Profiles
Text, Figure 1-6 , Map view 1-4: Waterbase - UWWTD: Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive – reported data
Text and Figure 7: EEA greenhouse gases - data viewer
Text and Figure 8- WFD: WISE WFD Database: reported data
Text and Figure 9 - Bathing water
Bathing Water Directive: Status of bathing water: reported data