Wastewater treatment (or wastewater purification) is the process of removing contaminants from an wastewater of urban or industrial origin, that is, from an effluent that has been contaminated by organic and/or inorganic pollutants.
All our social, productive, and recreational activities lead to the production of discharges that, in order to be returned to the environment, must necessarily undergo purification since the amount of pollutants exceeds the self-purification capacity of the soil, seas, lakes, and rivers.
It is therefore necessary to use wastewater purification systems that simulate the biological processes that occur naturally in watercourses, making them faster due to the technology employed. The basic purification processes through biological treatments exploit technologies mainly based on natural phenomena, which however occur in artificially created environments.
THE REFERENCE REGULATIONS FOR WASTEWATER TREATMENT
In Italy, the reference regulation is the Legislative Decree 152 issued on May 11, 1999, which implements the European directive 91/271/EEC regarding the treatment of urban wastewater.
In addition to regulating discharges by setting limit values for the various substances contained in them, the Legislative Decree 152/99 is dedicated to the quality of the water body intended to receive them, providing for the development of monitoring activities and possibly quantifying the environmental damage caused by humans.
It should also be noted the Ministerial Decree 198, which came into force on September 18, 2002, “Implementation methods on the state of water quality, pursuant to Article 3, paragraph 7, of Legislative Decree May 11, 1999, n. 152”. It particularly provides for the transmission to APAT by the Regions and Autonomous Provinces of the knowledge data, all information, and reports regarding the state of water quality. A provision that derives its rationale from the need to alleviate the lack of information on the matter.
On April 3, 2006, Legislative Decree 152/06 “Environmental Consolidated Law” was enacted, which, taking up what was already introduced with the previous Legislative Decree 152/99, modifies the regulatory framework regarding water pollution, particularly concerning the definitions of:
DISCHARGE OF WASTEWATER: (art. 74 letter ff, Legislative Decree 152/06)
“Any discharge made exclusively through a stable collection system that connects without interruption the production cycle of the effluent with the receiving water body, surface waters, soil, groundwater, and sewer network, regardless of their polluting nature, even if subjected to prior purification treatment. Discharges of water provided for in Article 114 are excluded.”
URBAN WASTEWATER: (art. 74 letter i, Legislative Decree 152/06)
“domestic wastewater or the mixture of domestic wastewater, industrial wastewater, or rainwater runoff conveyed in sewer networks, even separate, and coming from agglomerates.”
DOMESTIC WASTEWATER: (art. 74, letter g, Legislative Decree 152/06)
“wastewater originating from residential settlements and from services and mainly resulting from human metabolism and domestic activities.”
Read more about domestic wastewater purification
INDUSTRIAL WASTEWATER: (art. 74, letter h, Legislative Decree 152/06)
“any type of wastewater discharged from buildings or installations where commercial or goods production activities take place, different from domestic wastewater and rainwater runoff.”
The overall situation in Italy is improving but is still far from meeting the standards set by European regulations.
Non-compliance with directive 91/271/EEC on the treatment of urban wastewater has indeed already led to repeated warnings and monetary penalties. To date, a considerable number of agglomerates violate the fundamental obligations of collection, treatment, and monitoring. Specifically, Italy has been condemned by the European Court of Justice for failing to complete the sewers and treatment plants of 74 cities, especially in Sicily. We are talking about 25 million plus 30 for every six months of delay in completing the works.
As early as 2012, Italy highlighted that 109 inhabited centers were without sewer networks for the collection of urban wastewater or systems for the treatment of urban wastewater compliant with the provisions of directive 91/271.
In 2016, the EU Commission in Brussels verified that the cities without sewers or treatment plants had decreased from 109 to 74, an improvement but still remaining outside the regulations.
Consult the Legislative Decree 152/06
Read more about industrial wastewater purification
Since December 12, 2017, the European Law of November 20, 2017, n. 167 “Provisions for the fulfillment of obligations arising from Italy's membership in the European Union - European Law 2017” has been in force CONSULT THE NEW ENVIRONMENTAL PROVISIONS
Discover more about the new Legislative Decree n.106 in force since 09/08/17 which regulates the adaptation of national legislation based on the provisions of regulation (EU) n.305/2011 regarding Small wastewater treatment systems up to 50 AE (EN 12566).
Important: Responsibilities and Penalties related to CE Marking.
It is essential to be aware of the responsibilities and penalties related to the lack of CE marking on purification plants. LEGISLATIVE DECREE June 16, 2017, n. 106 Adaptation of national legislation to the provisions of regulation (EU) n. 305/2011, which establishes harmonized conditions for the marketing of construction products and repeals directive 89/106/EEC. (17G00119) (GU General Series n.159 of 10-07-2017) Art. 17 - Market Surveillance
1. The competent administrations are market surveillance authorities and on construction sites for materials and products for which the basic requirement for the respective works is relevant. 2. Surveillance is carried out through inspections, analyses, tests, measurements, verifications, and controls aimed at: a) ensuring that the purification plants comply with the requirements of the technical standard EN12566 established in regulation (EU) n.305/201.
Art. 20 - Violation of obligations regarding the use of construction products
1. The builder, the project manager, the execution manager, or the tester who, within the scope of their specific competencies, uses products not compliant with R.UE 305/2011 is punished with an administrative monetary penalty from 4,000 euros to 24,000 euros; unless the act constitutes a more serious crime, the same act is punished with imprisonment of up to six months and with a fine from 10,000 euros to 50,000 euros. 2. The designer of the work who prescribes products not compliant with what is provided in violation of one of the provisions regarding DoP declaration of performance and CE marking of R.UE 305/2011 is punished with an administrative monetary penalty from 2,000 euros to 12,000 euros; unless the act constitutes a more serious crime, the same act is punished with imprisonment of up to three months and with a fine from 5,000 euros to 25,000 euros.
Art. 21 - Violation of obligations of economic operators
1. The economic operator who does not comply with the withdrawal, suspension, or recall measures adopted pursuant to Article 17, paragraph 2, letters d) and e), of this decree is punished with an administrative monetary penalty from 4,000 euros to 24,000 euros; unless the act constitutes a more serious crime, the same act is punished with imprisonment of up to six months and with a fine from 10,000 euros to 50,000 euros.
