Transcript the EU case - National Water Mission

Water Recycling – the EU case
Neil Dhot
Secretary General
1. Water Reuse in the EU
2. What is Reuse?
3. What are the benefits?
4. What are the problems?
5. Case study
EurEau.Water Matters.
eureau.org
What is EurEau?
EurEau
the voice of
Europe’s
water sector
since 1975
EurEau. Water Matters.
Our
members
are the
national
water
services
associations
from 28
European
countries
We
represent
public and
private
drinking
and waste
water
service
providers
Employing
500,00 people,
the sector
makes
a significant
contribution to
the European
economy
eureau.org
1. Water Reuse in the EU
Key messages
~
Water recovered from wastewater and treated to standards
that allow safe use.
~
Not common across Europe but is emerging and being
encouraged by the EU.
~
It’s necessary because of the huge pressure on water
resources in Europe
~
Potential for major economic and environmental benefits and
for agriculture and industry.
~
But some challenges, including costs, and reuse will not be
appropriate in all cases.
EurEau.Water Matters.
eureau.org
2. What is Reuse?
~ Water recovered from wastewater and treated to standards
that allow safe use.
~ Two major types of water reuse:
 Direct: recovered water flows via pipelines, storage tanks,
etc directly from treatment to a distribution system.
 Indirect: recovered water, placed into a water supply
source eg lake, river, or aquifer and then retrieved to be
used again.
~ Various international definitions, eg EU, Australia, USA, all say
‘reclaiming wastewater for beneficial use’
~ Southern European states leading this work
EurEau.Water Matters.
eureau.org
2. What is Reuse?
~ EU policy context:
Water Framework Directive
 Water bodies which are over abstracted, at low levels or
low flows are not at ‘good status’.
 Requires policies to incentivise water efficiency
~ Climate change action
 EU now demanding action on water scarcity and droughts
~ Circular Economy
 more efficient use of natural resources and preservation of
their value
 Guidance document and standards according to the use
are foreseen for next year.
EurEau.Water Matters.
eureau.org
3. What are the benefits?
Who/What benefits from using recovered water:
~ Agriculture and irrigation: The main water user in Europe –
 33% of total water use.
 80% of abstractions in Southern Europe
~ Industrial: varied uses eg cooling, processing, washing
 40% of total EU water use by industry and energy
~ Urban: varied uses eg parks, fire fighting, street cleaning
 37% of wastewater in southern Europe is for urban use
~ Environmental: restoring natural habitats (wetlands/marshes),
urban flood defences, aquifer recharge
EurEau.Water Matters.
eureau.org
3. What are the benefits?
~ Economic benefits: Huge potential for €billions in direct and
indirect benefits. Plus:
 2009-2015 – capital expenditure on water re-use grew at a
compound annual growth rate of 19.5% a year
 2009-2015 – global capacity of reuse plants grew from
28Mm3/d to 70Mm3/d
~ Economic risks of not acting on reuse:
 Impact of EU economy of 2003 drought - €8.7billion
 1% increase in drought area slows a country’s GDP by up
to 2.7% a year.
 Spanish study (2001) – restrictions on non-priority water
users following drought warning would lead to loss of
€1.196bn to Catalunya economy
EurEau.Water Matters.
eureau.org
4. What are the problems?
There are still many challenges to overcome:
~



Water quality: many factors to take into account
Quality of receiving water
Depth of water table and soil drainage
Impact of particles eg metals and chemicals on soil
productivity
 WHO has identified potential risks to human health but
other research is contradictory.
~ Hydrology: impact of introducing reused water to river
flow levels
~ Treatment: determining level of treatment and technology
choice
is complex.
EurEau.Water
Matters.
eureau.org
4. What are the problems?
~ Distribution and storage: could be inefficient
and costly
 Difficult to show how much reused water
flowing into receiving waters is reused
 Storing and pumping reused water into a
distant network is costly
~ Legislative barriers: in some EU countries too
stringent/impossible measures in
implementation
EurEau.Water Matters.
eureau.org
5. Case study
High quality recycled water for agricultural irrigation
from two wastewater treatment plants in Milan, Italy.
~
~
~
~
~
Success factors:
Presence of a very old complex network of irrigation
canals and agricultural activity near the city.
Delivery of high quality recycled water to farmers
almost free of charge
Effective control of water allocation by two farmer
associations
High operational efficiency and reliability ensured by
high qualified staff and public-private partnership
Public education programs and collaborations with
non-profit organisations.
EurEau.Water Matters.
eureau.org
5. Case study
Key figures:
~ Capital cost: 150 M€ (Nosedo), 132.6 M€ (San
Rocco)
~ Operation and maintenance costs of between
0.115 €/m3 and 0.139 €/m3
~ Stringent standards for unrestricted irrigation
of <10 E.coli/100 ml
~ Recognised environmental benefits and added
value for agriculture
EurEau.Water Matters.
eureau.org
Thank you
for your attention
Neil Dhot
Secretary General
EurEau
[email protected]
Rue du Luxembourg 47-51,
B-1050 Brussels, Belgium
Tel: +32 (0)2 706 40 80
Fax: +32 (0)2 706 40 81
BE 0416 415 347
[email protected]
www.eureau.org
EurEau. Water Matters.
www.eureau.org