France only treats 0.6% of its wastewater (compared to 8% in Italy and 14% in Spain), according to our partner The Conversation.
It must be said that the national regulations are very strict and that they complicate the preparation of files, even jeopardizing the projects.
This analysis was conducted by Julie Mendret, doctor in environmental process engineering, lecturer at the University of Montpellier.
Reusing wastewater to save fresh water is one of the virtues of what is called “reuse”.
This approach is an essential lever in a context where global warming increases the pressure on water resources.
However, this lever is hardly activated in France, where only 0.6% of wastewater is treated.
Negligible compared to other European neighbours, such as Italy which treats 8% of its wastewater or Spain which reaches 14%.
Why is our country lagging behind?
This French phenomenon is mainly explained by a lack of public awareness and very strict regulations.
The reprocessing and reuse of treated wastewater are regulated in France by two ministerial decrees of 2010 and 2014. This regulation defines four levels – A, B, C, or D, from best to worst – with quality requirements for each. of water and authorized and prohibited uses.
For example, crops eaten raw can only be irrigated with quality level A water.
Crops eaten raw can only be irrigated with Grade A water © Jcful/Pixabay
Added to this are usage constraints depending on the irrigation technique, such as wind speed, minimum safety distances from dwellings or waterways, public information, etc.
Regulatory Barriers
While this strict regulation proves to be necessary from a health and environmental point of view, the constraints inherent in its application complicate the preparation of dossiers, and even jeopardize the projects.
Several of them were thus aborted due to constraints for the implementation (assembly of file, constraint of land typology, specific prescriptions for sprinkling irrigation, etc.) and implementation (requirement of traceability, monitoring of water quality, management of the irrigation program, etc.).
Sanitary quality levels of treated wastewater according to French regulations © The Conversation
Example of minimum distance constraint to be respected (in meters) between plots irrigated by treated wastewater and activities to be protected according to French regulations © The Conversation
A new European regulation
How to prevent these projects from falling through in the face of regulatory obstacles?
This is the purpose of the new European regulation of June 5, 2020 on the reuse of wastewater, which aims to promote reuse by harmonizing the rules of application at European level.
The European Parliament thus recalls that these new rules:
“aim to ensure that treated wastewater is more widely reused in order to limit the use of water bodies and groundwater.
Falling groundwater levels, due in particular to agricultural irrigation, but also to industrial use and urban development, is one of the main threats to the aquatic environment in the EU”.
Stated objective: to go from 1.7 billion cubic meters of reuse per year to 6.6 billion, which would reduce water stress by 5% at EU level by 2025.
The European regulation only concerns agricultural irrigation – the other uses remain under the responsibility of the Member State;
Member States have three years to bring their facilities into compliance.
More flexible than the French framework
This new regulation is more flexible than the current French framework: the four water quality classes are maintained – with reinforced microbiological thresholds (for the Escherichia Coli criterion, French quality A corresponds to quality C in the new regulation) – but performance objectives are no longer required, except for quality A. To compensate, the frequency of health checks – variable according to the water class – is increased.
A wastewater treatment plant © WFranz / Pixabay
Another major advance: the mandatory usage constraints related to distance, the nature of the ground and the wind speed have disappeared.
To replace them, “barriers” are introduced – an additional treatment for example – making it possible to adapt the quality criteria according to the risks.
The operator of the wastewater treatment plant must propose a risk management plan in which the risks and means implemented for their management are identified (replacing the French rules of use which have been compulsory until now).
Once validated, this plan will make it possible to obtain an operating permit which specifies, among other things, the class of water quality issued and the authorized agricultural use.
The risk management plan, drawn up by the operator of the treatment plant, is therefore one of the cornerstones of this new regulation.
It allows each project to be considered on a case-by-case basis and gives more flexibility to setting up reuse projects.
It also includes a public awareness component by encouraging the publication of certain data (quality of recycled water, results of inspections, etc.) in order to reassure consumers and improve social acceptance of reuse, which is already on the rise.
Today, 83% of French people say they are ready to drink drinking water produced from wastewater.
Quality requirements applicable to reclaimed water intended for agricultural irrigation according to the European regulation © EUR-Lex (via The Conversation)
Harmonization and questions
In some aspects, the European regulation of June 5, 2020 constitutes real progress.
The practices and levels of quality will be the same in all the Member States, with usage constraints adapted to the actual risks and enhanced transparency vis-à-vis consumers.
However, this new regulation considers only one use, irrigation;
it remains to be hoped that this will be the occasion in the long term to democratize other uses in France such as the irrigation of golf courses, parks, the fight against fires or the recharging of groundwater.
However, the very high quality constraints can lead to additional costs for updating the installations, particularly if an additional processing step must be added.
Obstacle which, in some cases, cannot be overcome without public aid.
Our "WATER" file
Finally, these regulations do not mention certain categories of very worrying pollutants (microplastics and pharmaceutical micropollutants, for example) which worry consumers and for which advanced treatments must generally be put in place.
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This analysis was written by Julie Mendret, doctor in environmental process engineering, lecturer at the University of Montpellier.
The original article was published on The Conversation website.
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