The European Parliament and the Council Reached a Provisional Political Agreement on the Revision of the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (UWWTD)

On 29^th of January 2024, the European Parliament and the European Council have reached a deal on new rules for the collection, treatment, and discharge of urban wastewater, that will significantly strengthen the protection of human health and the environment from harmful discharges of urban wastewater. The revised Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (UWWTD) will impact to cleaner rivers, lakes, groundwater, and seas all around Europe.

Below is the list of provisions comprised in the revised directive (for comparison refer to the previous UWWTD):

• Threshold of 1000 population equivalent (PE) for articles 3 and 6, last deadline: 2035
• Threshold for 3T and 4T: 10.000 and 150.000 PE
• 3T: 8 mgN/l (80%) and 0,5 mgP/l (90%) for > 150.000 PE
• 3T: 10 mgN/l (80%) and 0,7 mgP/l (87,5%) for agglo between 10.000 and 150.000 PE, last deadline 2039
• 4T: last deadline 2045
• Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR): at least 80 % of 4T costs covered by EPR (each MS can go up to 100%) ; a further 20 percent should be covered by national funding Focus on pharmaceuticals and personal care products with national systems for implementation. First movers should also bear operating costs and investment costs (depreciation and amortization) be taken into account. + clause of review
• Energy: Energy neutrality by 2045 (with intermediate targets) as a national target for the sector as a whole – energy generated on and off site, not plant-specific – (Inclusion of plants from 10,000 PE) + purchase of 35% of non-fossil energy + respect of audits
• Storm Water Overflows (SWO): trigger (article 5) : 2%, target (annex V) : 2% + Priority consideration of green and blue infrastructure solutions in urban areas to reduce of stormwater overflows
• System failure removed from the definition of SWO.

As Albania has already started the negotiation process with the EU, the revision of the UWWTD will certainly have an impact in the future planning and construction of the wastewater infrastructure. Compliance with the revised Directive is already seen as a challenge by the EU member state countries, and it will be even more so for countries like Albania. Besides the additional investments that will be needed to ensure a higher level of treatment, one of the key challenges remaining will be the need for qualified personnel who will be able to operate the WWTPs to be build, and ensure compliance with the new UWWTD.

For more information read the below press releases:

• Commission Press release
• Council Press release
• Parliament Press release