95% of wastewater collected, 89% treated. This data refers to 2014, a good result that confirms the positivity of compliance rates with EU wastewater regulations. This can be verified by examining the new Commission report on the implementation of EU wastewater treatment regulations, which demonstrates significant improvement in the EU-13 Member States. However, on paper, there is a slightly lower percentage compared to the previous period, a factor due to the inclusion, for the first time in the report, of data from three large Member States, whose performance is below average. The trend remains positive for EU-13 countries, whose situation is constantly improving when observing the last three reference periods.
This does not change the fact that there is still much to be done.
Urban wastewater from 11 million inhabitants is not yet collected and that of an additional 41 million is not adequately treated. The report highlights the need to increase investments in the wastewater sector, in order to optimize the level of implementation of the directive and stimulate the resulting environmental and employment impacts. The water industry is indeed an important engine for economic growth, creating an annual output and added value of approximately 137 billion EUR and over 600,000 related jobs. The sector also contributes to the circular economy through nutrient recycling, sewage sludge, wastewater reuse, and renewable energy production through the application of new technologies at the treatment level. The overall level of implementation of the EU directive is therefore currently high, but in the immediate future, it will need to continue to grow to fully address even the minor gaps identified.
