Wastewater collection and treatment continues to improve overall in the EU, but planning and financing remain the weak links, according to the report on the implementation of the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC) published by the European Commission on Thursday 10 September.
This report - the tenth of its kind - shows that compliance rates with EU rules on the collection and treatment of wastewater are high and have increased compared to the previous reporting period, but progress is not uniform and more work needs to be done.
One percent of urban wastewater is still not collected, and more than six percent is not treated well enough to meet secondary biological treatment standards.
According to the report, the financing and planning of wastewater infrastructure remains the main challenge for the water services sector in many Member States.
“ We will do everything we can to stimulate innovation and new investment in environmental infrastructure across Europe”, said Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius
The European Environment Agency had previously indicated that protecting the climate requires more investment in wastewater treatment (see EUROPE 12346/22).
Link to the report: https://bit.ly/32gnvw3 (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)