Urban waste water treatment for 21st century challenges

More investment is needed to make urban waste water treatment plants fit to meet the difficult challenges posed by the impacts of climate change, as well as the presence of antibiotics and other micro-pollutants in waste water, according to a European Environment Agency (EEA) briefing. Much has already been done in recent decades to improve waste water treatment, according to the EEA briefing ‘urban waste water treatment for 21st century challenges’. The proportion of households connected to treatment facilities varies across Europe, from 97% in western and central Europe, to around 70% in southern, south-eastern and eastern Europe. However, urban waste water treatment now needs to address challenges like climate change, changes in population and newly emerging pollutants.