Strategic plan tool and assessment framework for urban wastewater treatment plants’ adaptation to the new EU directive.

Abstract

To address the multiple objectives and requirements in the urban wastewater treatment driven by the revision of the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (UWWTD), it is crucial to develop a strategic plan that supports the water utilities in the selection and prioritization of the strategies and investments on the short, medium and long runs, depending on the population equivalent served and whether the discharge represents a risk for the environment or human health (risk areas). In this context, the EU-funded LIFE Fitting project (lifefitting.lnec.pt/) aims to develop and demonstrate, at full scale, in three large urban wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), an innovative set of tools (PLAN-DO toolbox, TRL 7, ready for professional software production) for strategic planning, monitoring, and intelligent operation of WWTPs. This includes the “PlanTool”, which implements the strategic planning concept and methodology, as well as the associated performance assessment framework.