REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS Ninth Report on the implementation status and the programmes for implementation (as required by Article 17) of Council Directive 91/271/EEC concerning urban waste water treatment
Date: 2017-12-14
Institutions: Directorate-General for Environment, European Commission
Subjects: EU investment, application of EU law, environmental monitoring, innovation, urban area, wastewater, water pollution, water protection, water resources, water treatment

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 14.12.2017 COM(2017) 749 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS Ninth Report on the implementation status and the programmes for implementation (as required by Article 17) of Council Directive 91/271/EEC concerning urban waste water treatment {SWD(2017) 445 final}  
 
 
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE 
COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE 
COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

Ninth Report on the implementation status and the programmes for implementation (as 
required by Article 17) of Council Directive 91/271/EEC concerning urban waste water 
treatment 

Contents 

1. POLICY CONTEXT ....................................................................................................... 1 

2. COMPLIANCE ASSESSMENT .................................................................................... 2 

2.1 Collecting systems and/or other appropriate systems........................................... 3 
2.2 Secondary or biological treatment ........................................................................ 4 
2.3 More stringent or tertiary treatment and sensitive areas ..................................... 5 
2.4 Distance to compliance ......................................................................................... 6 
2.5 Trends in compliance ............................................................................................ 9 
2.6 Big cities/big dischargers .................................................................................... 10 
2.7 Sewage sludge production and reuse .................................................................. 10 
2.8 Waste water reuse ............................................................................................... 11 

3. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE UWWTD AND STATE OF WATERS ..................... 11 

4. PROMOTING COMPLIANCE .................................................................................... 12 

4.1 Funding programmes .......................................................................................... 12 
4.2 Legal enforcement ............................................................................................... 12 
4.3 Compliance promotion strategy .......................................................................... 13 
4.4 Research and Innovation ..................................................................................... 13 

5. IMPROVING THE REPORTING PROCESS .............................................................. 13 

6. JOBS, GROWTH AND INVESTMENTS .................................................................... 14 

7. EVALUATION OF THE UWWTD ............................................................................. 15 

8. CONCLUSIONS ........................................................................................................... 16 

1. POLICY CONTEXT 

The Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (UWWTD) is one of the key policy instruments   
under  the  EU  water  acquis  for  protecting  the  environment  and  human  health.  Progress  in 
implementing the UWWTD over the past 25 years played a substantial role in improving the 
quality of waters in EU rivers, lakes and seas (see Fig 1). It also underpinned a lot of progress 
in meeting the objectives of other EU Directives such as the Drinking Water, Bathing Water, 
Water  Framework,  and  Marine  Strategy  Framework  Directives1.Together  with  the  Bathing 

1  http://ec.europa.eu/environment/water/water-drink/index_en.html;  http://ec.europa.eu/environment/water/water-bathing/index_en.html; 
WFD, http://ec.europa.eu/environment/water/water-framework/index_en.html; and MSFD: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/marine/eu-coast-
and-marine-policy/index_en.htm 

1 

 
 
 
 
                                                 
and  the  Drinking  Water  Directives,  this  Directive  also  contributes  to  growth  and  jobs.  For 
example:  

  between EUR 19 and 25 billion investment is needed  invested in water infrastructures 

each year; 

  about 600 000 full-time equivalent jobs are related to water management. 

1993 

2012 

Fig  1  —  Evolution  in  biological  oxygen  demand  (BOD5)  in  European  Rivers-  the  reduction  of  BOD5  is  an 
indicator of the improvement of the quality of the EU waters (source: European Economic Area (EEA 2))    

The UWWTD should be also seen in the context of implementing Sustainable Development 
Goal  6  (SDG  6)  —  ‘ensure  access  to  water  and  sanitation  for  all3’.  Considering  that 
worldwide  2.4  billion  people  live  without  access  to  improved  sanitation  facilities,  and  still 
around 10 million people at EU level. SDG 6 offers new hope in terms of improving health 
and the environment for everyone. It also offers an opportunity for investments and operations 
in the water sector. 

This  report  is  based  on  data  collected  from  January  to  December  2014,  based  on  the 
requirements  of  Art.  15  and  17  of  the  UWWTD.  It  is  accompanied  by  a  staff  working 
document  providing  a  more  detailed  analysis.  For  this  report,  the  Commission  assessed  the 
situation  in  all  Member  States4  based  on  accurate  implementation  data.  This  was  possible 
through an in-depth dialogue with Member States and the improvement of the IT tools used 
by the Commission and the European Environment Agency5 6. The report shows the countries 
that joined the EU since 2004 (EU-137) have made significant improvement in achieving the 
objectives. 

2. COMPLIANCE ASSESSMENT 

In  2014  the  EU  had  around  23 500  ‘agglomerations’  as  defined  in  the  UWWTD,  of  2 000 
population  equivalent  (p.e.)  and  above.  These  agglomerations  generated  a  total  load  of  604 
million population equivalents (M p.e.), corresponding to domestic but also to some industrial 

2 http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/explore-interactive-maps/wise-soe-bod-in-rivers 

3 http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/water-and-sanitation/  

4 IT and PL were not included in the eighth report as they did not report either on time or correctly. HR had no compliance obligations by the 
reported year (2014). Its first compliance deadline will be end-2018. 

528  European  national  urban  waste  water  websites  https://www.geospatialworld.net/news-posts/geospatial-media-communications-
announces-winners-geospatial-excellence-award/. 

6 Reportnet-Eionet: https://www.eionet.europa.eu/reportnet 

7 BG, CY, CZ, EE, HR, HU, LT, LV, MT, PL, RO, SI, SK. 

2 

 
 
 
                                                 
and run-off rain waste waters. The difference compared to the load reported in the previous 
report (500 M p.e.) is mainly due to the inclusion of PL and IT.   

580 ‘big cities’, with more than 150 000 inhabitants generated a total load of 256 M p.e. – or 
42 % of the total. Fig 2 shows that 89 % of the total load is generated in agglomerations above 
10 000 p.e., therefore these agglomerations are considered as a priority in terms of achieving 
compliance. 

800

700

600

500

400

300

200

100

0

Agglomerations 
2 000 pe 
and more 

sup 100 000 pe 
51% 

10 001 - 100 000 pe 
38% 

2 000 - 10 000 pe 11% 

Total generated Load

Total treatment plants capacity

l

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e
a
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i
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p
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o

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i
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i

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Fig 2 — Total EU waste water load per agglomeration size, compared to treatment plants capacity 

In general terms, the EU reached a high level of compliance by 2014, with rates of: 

  94.7 % for collection (either through collecting systems or the alternative individual 

or other  appropriate systems (IAS8)); 

  88.7 % for secondary treatment; 
  84.5 % for more stringent treatment than secondary treatment, removing nitrogen (N) 

and/or phosphorus (P), when required.  

However,  there  are  still  substantial  differences  between  Member  States,  especially  on 
compliance with the requirements of more stringent treatment (see below).   

8 IAS should provide an ‘equivalent level of environmental protection’ according to the UWWTD. 

3 

 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
 
 
 
  
UWWTD 2014 Compliance rate 
Average values are reflected, weighted by pollution load 
generated by individual Mss. 

100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%

TOTAL EU 28

Collection

EU 15
Seconday treatment

EU 13
More stringent treatment

Fig 3 — UWWTD compliance rates (weighted average — year 2014) at EU-28, EU-15 and EU-13 levels (Art. 3, 
collection; Art.  4,  secondary  treatment,  Art.  5, more  stringent  treatment.  Secondary  treatment  is higher  in  the 
EU-13 due to differentiated conditions and deadlines in the accession treaties. 

The  overall  EU  compliance  figures  have  fallen  slightly  from  those  in  the  previous  report 
(98.4 %  for  collection,  91.9 %  for  secondary  and  87.9 %  for  more  stringent  treatment),  but 
figures in the current report more accurately represent the current implementation status of the 
UWWTD than figures in the former report. This is due to a combination of factors, such as:  

  new compliance deadlines for the EU-13;  
 
 

the inclusion of IT, PL and RO , which have lower implementation rates;  
Improvements in collecting and verifying data. 

The total installed treatment capacity in the EU represents about 780 M p.e. (Fig 2) which is 
higher than the load generated at EU level. This would lead in  principle to  future treatment 
needs being addressed even though the situation differs from one location to another. There 
are cases of over-dimensioning of treatment plants, but also of insufficient collection and/or 
connection to already existing plants. 

2.1 Collecting systems and/or other appropriate systems9 
The  EU  compliance  rate  on  collection  of  waste  waters  is  high,  with  an  average  value  of 
94.7 %. The decrease in 3.7 percentage points (pps.) from the previous report is mainly due to 
the  inclusion  of  IT,  PL  and  more  accurate  values  for  RO10.  Most  Member  States  have 
maintained  or  improved  their  compliance  rates,  except  RO,  CY  and  to  a  lesser  extent  ES11. 
Compliance rates are very high in 19 Member States, in the range of 98 to 100 %, while Four 
Member States still have low rates of below 70 % (RO, BG, SI and CY). 

9 Art. 3 of the UWWTD requires Member States to ensure that all agglomerations are provided with collecting systems. 

10 The compliance rate for Art 3 in RO in the eighth report (year 2012) was higher than expected, because it was calculated on the basis of 
the total compliant load (regardless the agglomerations it was associated with and their obligations under the Accession Treaty). It should 
have been calculated on the basis of the load associated with the list of agglomerations in full compliance, and under expired deadlines in the 
Accession Treaty, but this was not possible because such a list was not available in that reporting exercise. 

11 CY: -35 %, due to new compliance requirements in 2012; RO -96%, due to change in the methodology of calculation; and ES: -3% due to 
improvements in the accuracy of the dataset. 

4 

 
 
 
                                                 
  
The application of IAS as an alternative to centralised collection has decreased on average in 
comparison to the eighth Report. Higher values of IAS are observed in SK, EL, HU, PL and 
CZ.  The  Commission  is  investigating  whether  the  conditions  for  applying  IAS  (register, 
permits,  monitoring  and  inspection,  types  and  related  environmental  protection)  are  in  line 
with UWWTD requirements. 

Fig 4— Progress in compliance rates for Art. 3 UWWTD in the last three reports in % of the subjected load — 
data from 2010, 2012 and 2014 

2.2 Secondary or biological treatment12 
88.7 % of EU waste waters are properly treated by secondary treatment, down 3.2 % since the 
previous  report.  The  reasons  for  this  were  explained  in  paragraph  2.1.  Some  17  Member 
States  had  compliance  rates  between  90  and  100 %,  while  four  (MT,  RO,  BG  and  SI)  still 
have  to  make  significant  efforts  at  compliance,  with  rates  below  20 %.  IE,  which  has  a 
compliance  rate  below  70 %,  is  a  specific  case13,  and  IT  is  only  making  slow  progress. 
Despite the lower average compliance rate for the EU, this has increased for the EU-13 from 
68 % in the eighth report to 75 %. Progress is remarkable in countries such as EE, LV, LT and 
SK. The inclusion of PL, has lowered the EU-28 average rate, but increased the EU-13 rate. 

12  Art.  4  of  the  UWWTD  require  that  waste  water  entering  collecting  systems,  before  discharge,  be  subject  to  secondary  or  equivalent 
treatment. 

13 Mainly due to the Dublin treatment plant not being compliant in 2014. 

5 

 
 
 
                                                 
Fig 5—Progress in compliance rates for Art. 4 UWWTD in the last three Reports in % of subjected load — data 
from 2010, 2012 and 2014 

2.3 More stringent or tertiary treatment and sensitive areas14 
More  stringent  treatment  (than  that  of  secondary15)  is  applied  to  waste  water  discharged  in 
areas  covering  76 %  of  EU  territory.  15  Member  States  apply  it  throughout  their  entire 
territory,  whereas  the  other  13  have  identified  certain  areas  as  ‘sensitive’  according  to  the 
UWWTD. The territory designated as ‘sensitive’ has increased in the latter, bringing up the 
total EU territory designated as ‘sensitive’ by 4%, improving the protection of waters. 

The  compliance  rate  for  more  stringent  treatment  (applicable  to  agglomerations  discharging 
into ‘sensitive’ areas) is 84.5 %, down by 3.4 % since the previous report. This is mainly due 
to  the  availability  of  more  accurate  data  but  also  to  new  reported  data  showing  less 
compliance  by  IT,  PL  and  RO,  below  EU  average.  To  a  lesser  extent,  this  is  also  due  to  a 
slight  decrease  in  eight  Member  States’  results  due  to  the  expiry  of  new  deadlines  for 
compliance.  15  Member  States  reached  compliance  levels  of  between  85  and  100 % 
(including  CY,  EE,  HU,  LV,  and  LT).  Overall,  there  is  still  a  large  difference  between 
Member  States,  with  rates  ranging  from  below  70 %  to  full  compliance,  and  this  should  be 
sufficiently addressed. Significant efforts are still needed in several Member States with rates 
below 20 % (BG, MT, IE and RO).   

14 Art. 5 of the UWWTD requires Member States  to identify sensitive areas and to ensure that waste water undergoes treatment that is more 
stringent than secondary treatment before it is discharged into these areas. 

15 In general, N and/or P removal 

6 

 
 
 
                                                 
Fig 6—Progress in compliance rates for Art. 5 UWWTD in the last three Reports in % of the subjected load — 
data for 2010, 2012 and 2014 

2.4 Distance to compliance 

 ‘Distance to compliance’ could be defined as the calculation of the waste water load in p.e. 
not collected or treated properly. It shows the extent to which efforts are still needed, but also 
shows  a  more  realistic  picture  of  the  progress  achieved.  It  is  calculated  on  the  basis  of  the 
remaining  p.e.  that  must  be  collected  or,  if  collected,  that  must  still  receive  appropriate 
treatment for the terms of the UWWTD to be fully implemented. The picture shown  by this 
concept  complements  the  compliance  assessment,  which  considers  only  the  agglomerations 
that fully meet the requirements of the UWWTD16 to be ‘in compliance’.   

The  graph  below  (Fig  7)  shows  the  trends  of  ‘distance  to  compliance’:  between  2012  and 
2014,  approximately  one  additional  million  p.e.  was  collected,  an  additional  10  million  p.e. 
received  a  ‘compliant’  secondary  treatment,  and  an  additional  5  million  p.e.  received  a 
‘compliant’ more stringent treatment17. 

16

 An agglomeration collecting 98% of its waste waters in accordance with the requirements of the UWWTD will be considered as ‘non-

compliant’ even though the distance to target would only amount to 2%. 

17 PL was not included in the 2012 calculations and Italy was only partially considered.  

7 

 
 
 
                                                 
Fig 7 — Distance to compliance EU-27. Evolution from 2012 to 2014(HR not included), in % and M p.e.         

The ‘distance to compliance’ calculated using 2014 data, shows more clearly the nature and 
size of the remaining challenges: 

  11 million p.e. are not properly collected (1.8 % of total EU load). The p.e. not properly 

collected are not properly treated either; 

  41 million p.e. don’t meet the performance requirements of secondary treatment (7.2 % of 

the total EU load that requires this treatment); 

  45  million  p.e.  don’t  meet  the  performance  requirements  of  more  stringent  treatment 

(11.9 % of the total EU load that requires this treatment). 

Large  differences  exist  between  Member  States.    9  countries  have  ‘distance  to  compliance’ 
rates  above  20 %  for  collection,  secondary  or  more  stringent  treatment.  Low  ‘distance  to 
compliance’  rates  achieved  in  some  countries  for  collection  or  treatment  are  based  on  the 
application of considerable rates of IAS.  

8 

 
 
 
 
Fig  8—Distance  to  compliance  (collection)  in  EU  Member  States  (2014  data).Some  Member  States  are  not 
shown in this figure because their distance to compliance is equal to 0%.  

100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%

EE CY DK DE LU SE BE EL CZ UK SK PL HU FI FR IT SI ES PT BG RO IE MT

EU
28

EU
15

EU
13

Fig 9—Distance to compliance (secondary treatment) in EU Member States (2014 data) 

9 

 
 
 
 
100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

E
E

E
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U I
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I

K S
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O I
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R

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M

8
2
U
E

5
1
U
E

3
1
U
E

Fig 10—Distance to compliance (more stringent treatment) in EU Member States (2014 data) 

2.5 Trends in compliance 

In  general,  the  implementation  trends  are  positive,  particularly  for  the  EU-13:  their  average 
compliance  rates  have  significantly  increased  since  2009/10  (i.e.  over  three  reports)  on 
collection, secondary and more stringent treatment. The decrease in compliance on collection 
at  EU-13  level  for  this  report  is  mainly  due  to  systematically  using  the  correct  assessment 
methodology for legal compliance. 

10 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Fig 11—Historical evolution of compliance rates (1998-2014) 

However, some countries are still far from reaching full compliance with the UWWTD. Malta 
is  in  a  specific  situation:  its  infrastructure  is  partly  in  place  but  it  has  operational  problems 
that need to be solved18. After more than 25 years of applying the UWWTD, some Member 
States are still facing difficulties in reaching full compliance — these countries include IE, IT, 
ES and PT.  

2.6 Big cities/big dischargers 

As explained above, 580 EU big cities generate 42 % of the total EU waste water load. 86 % 
of  this  load  receives  more  stringent  treatment  than  secondary  treatment.  The  percentage  of 
non-collected  and  untreated  load  has  remained  stable  since  the  previous  report,  at  around 
2.3 %. The degree of compliance varies, and 18 out of the 27 capitals19 can be considered to 
be in full compliance in 2014, 4 more than in the previous report. Additional efforts are still 
needed for the capitals remaining in non-compliance20. 

2.7 Sewage sludge production and reuse 

Based  on  2014  data,  some  relevant  facts  and  figures  on  sludge  management  can  be 
highlighted: 

  8.7  M  tonnes  of  dry  solid  matter  of  sludge  were  produced  in  the  EU,  representing 

approximately 17 kg per inhabitant;    

  BG,  CY,  IT,  PT  and  RO    showed  ratios  below  10  kg  per  inhabitant,  suggesting  an 

insufficient level of collection and treatment; 

  58 % of the generated sludge was reused, mostly in agriculture (Fig 12). 

not reported 
4% 

disposed: 
Others  
3% 

disposed: 
Incineration  
27% 

re-used: Soil 
and 
agriculture  
45% 

disposed: 
Landfill  
8% 

re-used: 
Others  
13% 

Fig 12 — Destination of reported urban waste water sludge 

The potential contribution to circular economy of the sector is significant:   

18 Excess of discharges of farm  manure into the treatment systems, and the presence of salt in sewage, together with plants that are likely 
under-capacity. 

19 Zagreb not assessed (still without compliance obligations). 

20  Luxembourg,  Bratislava  and  Prague  (more  stringent  treatment),  Ljubljana,  Valletta,  and  Rome  (secondary  treatment),  Bucharest 
(collection), Dublin (secondary and more stringent treatment) and Sofia (collection, secondary and more stringent treatment). 

11 

 
 
 
                                                 
  
  More than half of the P removed from the waste water in treatment plants was reused or 

recycled. 

  The  quantity  of  N  and  P  recycled  in  the  soil  amounts  to  250 000  tonnes21  respectively. 
With  a  value  of  EUR  1 300  per  tonne  for  N  and  EUR  900  per  tonne  for  phosphorus 
22 the total value recycled from sewage sludge would reach EUR 550 M 
pentoxide (P2O5),
in 201423. 

  27 %  of  sludge  is  incinerated  (mainly  that  which  is  generated  in  urban  areas).  This  is 

mostly the case in AT, DE and NL. 

The  development  of  digestion  technology  contributes,  in  parallel,  to  reducing  sludge 
production while producing renewable energies (biogas). 

2.8 Waste water reuse 

The last reported information confirms the limited reuse of waste water: only eight Member 
States  have  signalled  a  regular  reuse  of  part  of  their  treated waste  waters  (EL,  UK,  FR,  IT, 
MT,  CY,  ES,  BE).    Related  data  are  not  regularly  collected  and  therefore  not  completely 
available. The percentage of treated waste water that is reused ranges from 0.08% in the UK 
to  97% in  Cyprus,  with an average of 2 %  in  the EU. Reuse mainly  happens  in  agriculture, 
and occasionally in industry and aquifer feeding. HR, HU, SK, and RO reported intentions to 
reuse  waste water in  future. Latvia and  Austria explained that it is  not necessary due to  the 
large  availability  of  freshwater.  The  remaining  14  Member  States  reported  that  they  do  not 
reuse their waste waters. 

In the context of its Communication ‘Closing the loop — An EU action plan for the circular 
economy24’, the Commission is preparing a legislative initiative to promote waste water reuse. 
This  EU  action  would  aim  to  enable  cost-effective  waste  water  reuse  for  agricultural 
irrigation, while ensuring a high level of protection for health and the environment. 

3. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE UWWTD AND STATE OF WATERS 
Improvement  in  the  quality  of  many  EU  rivers  due  to  UWWTD  implementation25  can  be 
demonstrated  through  assessing  parameters  such  as  BOD526  (see  Fig  1),  ammonium  or 
orthophosphate.  It  is  harder  to  draw  similar  conclusions  on  good  ecological  status,  which 
takes into account the biological life. However, analysis of the number of fish species in some 
rivers  (like  the  Seine27)  clearly  shows  that  their  number  has  increased  in  parallel  to  the 
decrease of untreated waste water discharges. This is because heavy sewage pollution causes 
lack of oxygen and prevents the development of sensitive biological species. 

21  As  a  tonne  of  sludge  includes  5 %  of  N  and  5 %  of  P2O5  or  P  anhydride  http://www.eau-loire-bretagne.fr/les_rendez-
vous_de_leau/les_rencontres/Rencontres_2012/Boues-2_Syprea.pdf 

22 http://www.sede.be/fr/produits/recyclage-agricole/boue/ 

23 It should be noted that a fraction of these nutrients may be flushed off from the soil. 

25 With the exception of certain rivers, e.g. in Southern and Eastern EU countries 
26 The UWWTD addresses pollution by organic matter and nutrients 
27 http://www.siaap.fr/fileadmin/user_upload/Siaap_Ecole_OLD/Education/Mediation_p%C3%A9dagogique/Livret_bio.pdf 

12 

 
 
                                                 
 
 
 
 
Currently the Commission is examining the second river basin management plans (covering 
2009-2015)  submitted  under  the  Water  Framework  Directive  (WFD),  and  will  publish  an 
assessment report in 2018. 

4. PROMOTING COMPLIANCE 

The  Commission  has  set  up  several  initiatives  to  support,  encourage  and  ensure  full 
implementation of the UWWTD. 

4.1 Funding programmes 

European    funds,  in  particular  the  European  Regional  Development  Fund  and  the  Cohesion 
Fund, have played a decisive role in implementing EU water policies28. This support spans the 
last  two  decades  and  entails  both  financing  and  promoting  an  enabling  policy  framework: 
EUR 20.7 billion in 2000-2006 and EUR 21.9 billion in 2007-2013 were allocated to water 
investments. 

For 2014-2020, investments are concentrated in Member States with less developed regions. 
With allocations of EUR 14.8 billion, water is the most important environmental area of the 
cohesion policy. The focus is on wastewater treatment and drinking water supply, while also 
investing in water conservation, flood prevention and other water-related topics. This support 
leverages additional private funding and is complemented by other EU funding sources such 
as the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, LIFE and Horizon 2020. 

The largest share of the available budget, about EUR 10 billion, goes to wastewater treatment 
infrastructure, including the construction or upgrading of plants and sewerage networks, with 
some funding also going to sludge management. In 2014-2020, Member States are expected 
to connect 17 million people to new or upgraded wastewater treatment facilities, adding to the 
7 million people connected between 2007 and 2013.   

Cohesion policy also offers a policy framework for integrated regional development, working 
in  partnership  with  stakeholders  on the  ground.  This  includes  preconditions  for  funding.  To 
ensure that resources are used in the best way, investments must be based on Member States’ 
river  basin  management  plans,  as  set  out  in  the  WFD.  Moreover,  for  the  financial 
sustainability  of  projects,  water  pricing  policies  that  have  proper  incentives  to  use  water 
efficiently  are  required.  These  include,  following  the  polluter-pays  principle,  an  appropriate 
contribution  of  different  water  uses  to  the  cost  recovery  of  water  services.  This  ‘ex  ante 
conditionality’ has also boosted the WFD’s implementation. 

 4.2 Legal enforcement 

In  2014,  the  Commission  launched  investigations  for  most  of  the  countries  that  acceded  in 
2004 or later, and opened infringement procedures for those in breach in 2016 and 2017. 

For  those  that  were  Member  States  before  2004,  identified  breaches  led  to  several 
infringement procedures and most have been subject by now to at least one judgment of the 
Court of Justice of the EU. Since the publication of the Commission’s eighth implementation 
report29, the Court has issued four judgments, and two cases are still pending. 

28 European Court of Auditors, Special report No 2/2015, ‘EU-funding of Urban Waste Water Treatment plants in the Danube river basin: 
further efforts needed in helping Member States to achieve EU waste water policy objectives’. 

29 The Commission's most recent report on UWWTD implementation (COM (2016)105) provided information on Court’s judgments between 
2013 and 2016. Information last updated 10 April 2017. 

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One of these judgments sentenced PT under Art. 260, (second judgment) of the TFEU. So far, 
four Member States have been sentenced by the Court to fines and/or penalty payments under 
the UWWTD (BE, LU, PT and EL). Member States are imposed with a fine and/or a lump 
sum when they fail to comply with a previous judgment of the Court on the same subject. 

4.3 Compliance promotion strategy 

The Commission has undertaken several activities to improve compliance with the UWWTD, 
such as: 

  organising workshops,  seminars and meetings  either in candidate/accession countries, or 
in  Member  States  during  the  first  years  after  they  join  the EU,  to  provide  the  necessary 
support for a future, high level of implementation; 

  Coordination  and  cooperation  between  DG  ENV  and  DG  REGIO  for  ensuring  the  best 

possible outcome of the Operational Programmes; 

 

Improving the Art. 17 reporting formats and improving data management using the new 
IT tool; 

  Launching infringement procedures over persistent breaches. 

Despite  these  efforts  and  the  subsequent  progress  achieved  in  many  cases,  there  is  still  the 
need  to  improve  implementation  in  certain  Member  States.    The  Commission  is  therefore 
considering  more  initiatives  and  ad  hoc  dialogues  with  Member  States  facing  the  most 
difficulties in implementing the UWWTD. 

4.4 Research and Innovation  

Research and innovation plays an important role in the implementation of the UWWTD. New 
technologies and innovative business and governance models are necessary for more effective 
treatment of urban waste water and for reducing the cost of compliance. To support research 
and innovation the EU 7th Framework Programme for Research and Innovation funded more 
than  140  research  and  innovation  projects  related  to  waste  water  of  the  total  value  of  330 
million  Euro  in  the  period  2007-2013.  Other  projects  are  being  or  will  be  supported  by 
Horizon 2020 in the current period 2014-2020.  

5. IMPROVING THE REPORTING PROCESS 

A  very  large  amount  of  data  is  reported  to  the  EEA’s  centralised  database.  This  poses  a 
challenge to extract, use, and show the available data and as well as interlink it to other related 
databases  and  sources  of  information,  such  as  the  WFD,  Natura  2000  reporting  or  Bathing 
Water    or  the  State  of  environment  Reporting.  An  updated  EEA  data  viewer  has  improved 
access  to  EU  level  information30.  The  reporting  process  and  public  access  to  environmental 
information  have  improved  due  to  the  development  of  a  user-friendly  digital  platform31  at 
national  level,  under  the  structured  implementation  and  information  framework  (SIIF).  This 
happened in the context of the ninth reporting exercise. SIIF is an open-source web-based tool 
that enables automated and standardised processing and dissemination of data. 

30https://tableau.discomap.eea.europa.eu/t/Wateronline/views/UWWTP/Menu?:embed=y&:showShareOptions=true&:display_count=no&:sh
owVizHome=no 

31 28 European national urban waste water websites (in http://ec.europa.eu/environment/water/water-urbanwaste/index_en.html)  

14 

 
 
                                                 
Fig 13 — Example of the picture of the IE national platform 

Under  the  SIIF,  28  national  platforms  disseminate  data  through  charts,  maps,  tables  and 
statistics,  with  a  strong  geospatial  component  also  performing  automatic  calculations. 
Information is also displayed about planned projects, addressed to reach compliance with the 
UWWTD.  Moreover,  information  on  bathing  water,  Natura  2000  and  river  quality  is  fully 
integrated into this tool.   

6. JOBS, GROWTH AND INVESTMENTS 

The  UWWTD,  together  with  the  Drinking  Water  and  the  Waste  Directives,  is  one  of  the 
pieces  of  EU  environmental  legislation  with  largest  economic  implications.  The  UWWTD 
significantly  contributes  to  investment  in  maintenance  and  further  improvement  of  waste 
water  treatment  facilities  in  Europe,  as  well  as  providing  a  competitive  edge  for  companies 
active beyond Europe. 

The EU-28 Member States have reported detailed information about the ongoing and planned 
11 500 projects addressed to comply with the requirements of the UWWTD. Among them, at 
least  6 000  treatment  plants  are  expected  to  be  built  or  renovated,  with  a  total  capacity  of 
about 94 million p.e., or 12 % of the EU total. 

According to Member  States’ reports, investments in  urban waste water have  increased and 
reached a plateau of EUR 19 to 25 billion  per year (despite some Member States providing 
only  partial  information,  missing  that  on  the  renewal  and  extension  of  infrastructure).  The 
investments in this sector represent, on average, EUR 38-50 per inhabitant and year. 

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Current Yearly
Investments (with
Estimation of renewal for
ES, PT, SE and UK)
Current Yearly
Investments

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

EU 28

EU 15

EU 13

Fig 14 — Investments in new and renewed collecting systems and treatment plants in the EU (EUR billion/year) 

Compared to the previous reporting period, a fall in investments for the EU-13 can be seen, 
according  to  the  figures  reported  under  the  Art.  17  report.  This  is  a  result  of  higher 
implementation rates. 

On  the  basis  of  Member  States  estimates,  investments  worth  approximately  EUR 49  billion 
are needed within the next 10 years to ensure compliance with the UWWTD. This includes 
investing in an increasing number of projects to reduce storm water overflows and partially 
renew/improve infrastructure (e.g. replacement of IAS by collecting systems). EU funds are 
expected to partly cover these investments.   

Investments are expected to increase in the other 15 Member States, mainly in infrastructure 
renewal and better control of rain events (storm water overflows). Some countries, such as IT 
or  ES,  still  need  to  strongly  increase  their  investments  to  achieve  full  compliance  with  the 
main UWWTD requirements. 

When  referring  to  the  waste  water  sector32  as  a  whole,  including  exports  it  is  important  to 
highlight  its  substantial  contribution  to  the  European  economy.  This  sector  creates  a 
production  value  of  about EUR  96  billion  each  year,  and  an  added  value  of 
about EUR 41 billion  each  year.  It  generates  about  600 000  full-time  equivalents  of 
employment. 

The Commission is currently looking into assessing overall investment needs for maintenance 
and new installations across the EU. 

7. EVALUATION OF THE UWWTD 

The Commission is carrying out an evaluation of the Directive.  The scope and objectives of 
the evaluation are outlined in the roadmap which has been published for feedback33.  

32 http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/environment/environmental-goods-and-services-sector/database 

33 https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/initiatives/ares-2017-4989291_en  

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8. CONCLUSIONS 

More  than  25  years  after  the  adoption  of  the  UWWTD,  significant  progress  towards  full 
implementation was achieved by 2014. This has led to gradual but significant improvement in 
the quality of European waters. However, despite the generally high level of implementation 
of the UWWTD, a number of challenges remain, such as: 

  Investing further in the waste water sector to increase or maintain implementation. There 
needs to  be a special focus in  some Member States  still facing  low implementation rates 
and  more  generally  on more  stringent  treatment,  combined  with  the  need  to  ensure  good 
operation and infrastructure maintenance. 

  Gathering additional evidence on how IAS systems function.   

  Improving the quality and recovery of sludge.  

  Reducing the effects of storm water overflows polluting water bodies with untreated waste 

water. This can be achieved by:  

  promoting natural water retention systems;  

  improving the management of the networks in connection with the treatment plants;  

  Additional investments (when needed34). 

  Improving the connections between the basic requirements of the UWWTD and the WFD, 
particularly  when  these  requirements  are  not  sufficient  to  achieve  compliance  with  the 
water quality objectives set out in the WFD. 

  Increasing the reuse of treated wastewater (in cases of water scarcity) while ensuring the 

appropriate water quality. 

  Optimising the energy consumption of sanitation systems, producing renewable energy at 

treatment plant level (e.g. biogas) when possible. 

  Ensuring  the  affordability  of  waste  water  services  in  the  knowledge  that  the  needs  for 
investments in the water sector are broader than only for collection and treatment, as they 
also  include  drinking  water,  protection  against  floods  and  water  availability  in  some 
regions.   

These  challenges  and  other  findings  of  the  forthcoming  evaluation  will  feed  into  the 
Commission's reflection on possible further action. In the meantime, specific attention will be 
given  to  Member  States  facing  difficulties  in  implementing  the  Directive  and  the  reporting 
activities will be improved to ensure suitable and timely data collection and assessment. 

34 Storm water overflows study: https://circabc.europa.eu/w/browse/e00a649a-7eb4-40b3-9b19-f5ace7a80e08 

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