Narinder Sunner Technical Director at MWH, now part of Stantec
The water industry is about to face one of the biggest challenges in maintaining wastewater compliance in its history. The Water Framework Directive (WFD) had an aspiration that all aquatic ecosystems should meet ‘good status’ by 2015.
In the UK, this will drive the tightening of phosphorous standards and lowering phosphorus (P) levels down to 0.5mg/l in AMP6, and then further to 0.1mg/l in AMP7.
This level of compliance will require a step-change in the operational input and maintenance of wastewater treatment works. Operators will have to be up-skilled, as new technology will be used to meet these tight limits. Water utilities will also have to ensure additional capital maintenance funding is available if these new regulated outcomes are to be met.
The levels of treatment now require a step change in the operational input and maintenance of wastewater treatment works as most solutions are likely to be complex tertiary treatment technologies.
Narinder Sunner Technical Director, MWH (now part of Stantec) ‘Meeting the new low P standards’ published by Water & Sewage Journal here.
