Sustainable Solutions for Waste Water Treatment Works for Small Communities

Project Summary

The water industry is under growing pressure to comply with increasingly stringent standards for wastewater treatment whilst at the same time being pressed to minimise costs to the consumer, reduce energy use, and manage waste sludge. Treatment processes suitable for achieving these high standards of effluent quality are likely to involve increased costs, energy usage and greenhouse gas emissions. This is of particular relevance for small wastewater treatment works that are more likely to be located in remote situations where the application of complex high-energy processes is probably inappropriate. The main aim of this project was to produce a Best Practicable Sustainable Option (BPSO) methodology for identifying the most sustainable solution for small wastewater treatment works.

Project Partners

The project was commissioned by UK Water Industry Research Ltd and carried out in partnership with MWH.