Review of the Legislative Requirements and Responsibilities Relating to On-site Wastewater Treatment Systems and Their Impact on Water Quality
SNIFFER Code: WFD96
Year: 2010
Project Status: Complete
Short description: There are increasing concerns about the impact of the rural population on water quality and in particular its contribution to eutrophication. This is especially the case in areas where the population is highly dispersed and relies mainly on on-site wastewater treatment systems or small rural wastewater treatment works. There is limited information on the number, location and level of maintenance of these systems or the impacts of associated discharges on water quality and ecology.
This project was a desk-based study for the Environmental Regulators within Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. It aimed to improve knowledge of the impacts of a dispersed population pattern on water quality and to inform future legislation, policies and procedures to address pollution related to wastewater treatment provision in rural areas. The outputs are intended to be used to review the consenting, administration, data handling and regulation of on-site wastewater treatment systems.
The core deliverables were (1)Review of legislative requirements and responsibilities and identification of best practice; (2)Literature review of the impacts of on-site wastewater treatment systems, including cumulative loadings and impacts on water quality;(3)Identify methods used to estimate / quantify the nutrient loadings in discharges from small WWTW on water quality and provide recommendations on a suitable methodology for use by the Environment Agencies.
Keywords: Water Framework Directive, water quality, sewage
Lead Organisation: SNIFFER
Contact: SNIFFER (info@sniffer.org.uk)
Funding Collaborators: Environmental Protection Agency (Wexford),Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA),Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA)
Contractor(s): WRc plc
Cost of Research: 50k - 100k
Nature of Research: Guidance and Best practice
Geographical relavance: Europe
Primary End User: Environmental Regulators
Secondary End-users: Policy makers, Local authorities, The Public