Should Wastewater Surveillance Be Added to a Revised UWWTD?

First introduced in 1991, the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (UWWTD) is currently in the process of undergoing revision. After 30 years of service, a recent evaluation found that its scope is insufficient in a number of areas and outdated in several more. It also requires updating to bring it into line with other environmental objectives of the EU and future-proof it an increasingly eco-conscious world.

But while the majority of the changes that are expected to take place with regard to an updated UWWTD are concentrated in how it protects the environment, there is also an opportunity for wastewater surveillance to be incorporated into the Directive. An increasingly useful tool for quantifying levels of certain chemicals or contaminants in water sources and even predicting outbreaks of viral diseases, wastewater surveillance could be hugely important in the “age of the pandemics”.

What is wastewater surveillance?

Wastewater treatment is already rigorously monitored and measured via a number of different techniques. Technological advances have allowed for the development of novel methods for monitoring wastewater from the wastewater network and across the sewage treatment plant to aid optimisation, inform our knowledge of the sector’s performance and provide guidance on where it requires improvement.

However, this type of monitoring is not to be confused with wastewater surveillance. Rather than focus exclusively on environmental concerns, wastewater surveillance performs analysis of the chemicals, bacteria and other contaminants in a body of water to gain insights into the agglomerations which contribute wastewater to it.

How can wastewater surveillance help healthcare?

One of the most exciting potential uses of wastewater surveillance is its application in the sphere of healthcare. At present, the world is still struggling to contain and control the coronavirus, which has claimed millions of lives and thrown countless more livelihoods into disarray. While targeted testing of individuals is the best way of diagnosing isolated cases, analysis of wastewater samples can provide a more general overview of a town or city’s case rate.

That’s because fragments of the virus DNA can be found in the excrement of sufferers, long before they begin to experience symptoms. In this manner, effective wastewater surveillance can provide an early warning system about the possibility of potential outbreak hotspots. Of course, the same principles can be applied to any pandemic – not just Covid-19 – making surveillance of wastewater systems a valuable tool going forwards.

How can it be incorporated into the UWWTD?

In order for wastewater surveillance to function optimally, it’s vital that it is written into European legislation in a top-down manner. This could include the establishment of binding or non-binding requirements for all EU member states to deploy concrete wastewater surveillance measures in their urban wastewater treatment plants (UWWTPs), as well as the provision of resources and expertise for those not well versed in the discipline.

Of course, introducing wastewater surveillance across the board would incur significant charges and it is a matter of debate who should finance this, whether it be UWWTP operators, local authorities, public taxpayers or private companies. If you have an opinion on this matter, or indeed any aspect of incorporating wastewater surveillance into the UWWTD or the Directive in general, you can visit the EU website here and participate in the public consultation period, which is open to all EU citizens until the 21^st July 2021.