PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
Urban wastewater treatment faces multiple serious challenges. Notably, the improved management and control of the increasing number of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), including emerging microbial contaminants (antimicrobial resistance – AMR), in urban wastewater treatment is required, following the revision of the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (UWWTD). Moreover, climate change is intensifying droughts and water scarcity in several European countries, particularly Portugal, with more and longer periods being expected during which treated wastewater (urban and industrial) constitutes a substantial percentage of total river flow.
Wastewater utilities are struggling with the substantial cost increases in energy and reagents for wastewater treatment. It is therefore important to prepare cost-effective measures for enhancing CEC control in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and to protect the aquatic environment, water resources and human health against these contaminants.
These challenges call for multipurpose, integrated tools able to support water utilities (and indirectly, environmental agencies, regulators and policy makers) in planning and implementing environmentally and economically feasible strategies for wastewater treatment adjustment towards water quality-based limits.
This project builds on and up-scales the results of LIFE IMPETUS (LIFE14-ENV/PT/000739).
OBJECTIVES
The main objective of the LIFE Fitting project was to demonstrate at full-scale the application of a novel solution (the PLAN-DO toolbox) for smart discharge-driven operation, monitoring and strategic planning for WWTPs to better cope with climate uncertainty and treated water quality challenges.
The project outputs were intended to support water utilities in the selection and prioritisation of strategies and investments in the short, medium and long term towards an enhanced integrated control of regulated contaminants (organic matter, nutrients), pharmaceuticals (PhCs) and antimicrobial resistance, and – where/when direct or indirect reuse is envisaged – pathogen indicators (E. coli as bacteria indicators, coliphages as virus indicators and Clostridium perfringens spores as protozoa indicators). LIFE Fitting aimed to target over 50 pharmaceutical compounds and pathogens, including E. coli, F-specific coliphages, antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic-resistance genes (ARGs).
The PLAN-DO toolbox was based on 4 pillars, integrating 5 tools:
- Monitoring WWTP & receiving water body (“DO”) – MonitorTool
- Performance assessment & Forecasting (“DO”) – PASTool and CEC ForecasTool
- WWTP impact on receiving water quality & uses (“DO”) – Smart Discharge Tool
- Strategic planning (“PLAN”) – PlanTool
The toolbox would support the development of strategies balancing resource-efficient wastewater treatment with a safer and fit-for-purpose treatment, adjustable to the receiving water uses and quality requirements towards regulated and emerging contaminants, namely, PhCs and ARB/ARGs.
The toolbox was mainly adapted for water utilities but could also support the activities of environmental protection agencies, water regulators and policy makers.
RESULTS
LIFE FITTING developed, demonstrated, and validated at full-scale the application of a novel solution (PLAN-DO toolbox) for smart discharge driven-operation, monitoring and strategic planning of WWTPs for enabling a safer and resource-efficient wastewater treatment.
The work involved extensive monitoring and field campaigns in 3 urban large WWTPs with strong textile and hospital inputs and which discharge into the Selho, Ave or Vizela rivers, with long periods of weak dilution. The project tested key operating conditions and strategies for enhanced plant performance, and in their receiving rivers to monitor water quality and effluent dilution. Overall, more than 90 full-scale monitoring campaigns (88 in WWTPs and 8 in rivers) were conducted, analysing over 120 parameters, including around 60 organic CECs and ARB/ARGs.
The demonstration campaigns in the 3 case-studies WWTPs and the monitoring campaigns in their respective effluent receiving waters (rivers) were both necessary to develop, demonstrate, and validate the 5 tools of the PLAN-DO toolbox:
- PAStool – assesses WWTP performance
- CEC ForecasTool – predicts WWTP ability to control CECs
- MonitorTool – simplified procedures to monitor WWTPs and receiving waters, based on online measured bulk parameters, AMR biomarkers and key CECs
- Smart DischargeTool – sets WWTP performance to meet receiving water quality-based effluent limits (WQBELs) using dilution ratios
- PlanTool – supports prioritisation of strategies and investments (the short, medium, long term) for integrated control of organic matter, nutrients, and CECs, with minimal environmental impact.
During the project, more than 50 water professionals, regulators, and policy makers were trained on the use of the PLAN-DO approach and toolbox.
Some key project results include:
- discharge fee reduction (€/year): 91 391, from 478 688 to 387 297: 19% reduction (compared to the foreseen reduction of 14 956, from 263 040 to 248 084: 6% reduction)
- chemicals consumed (tonnes/year): 155.4 vs. project start value of 174.8 (compared to the foreseen consumption reduction from 273.5 to 219.3)
- GHG emissions (tonnes of CO2 eq. /year): 13 272 vs. project start value of 14 051 (compared to the foreseen emissions reduction from 16 433 to 15 722)
The PLAN-DO toolbox and its 5 digital tools offer strong practical value and high replicability for wastewater utilities, with potential relevance and applicability wherever a WWTP exists.
A Guide of Best Practices and a Policy Brief also offer key messages and recommendations to address the implementation of the new Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (UWWTD EU 2024/3019) on micropollutants and antimicrobial resistance (AMR)