Overview: urban waste water production and its treatment

In  , 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.

However, urban waste water needs to be treated before discharge, in order to avoid pollution to the environment. In  , 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 nitrogen and phosphorus removal

 

Biological treatment

 

Primary treatment

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Map view 1
Plants by treatment type

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)

Does   reuse treated urban waste water?

 

Is there a decrease in greenhouse gas emissions by the urban waste water treatment sector in  ?

Figure 7
Trends in emission of greenhouse gases by the urban waste water treatment sector

Carbon dioxide emissions equivalent

In  , emissions of greenhouse gases by the urban waste water treatment sector have   by  % between   and 2019.

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More information

Iceland is not part of the European Union, therefore information on compliance with the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive is not relevant and data on distance to target is not available.