Wastewater research theme

Wastewater

This extensive programme area includes research on diffuse pollution, environmental impacts, treatment processes, intermittent discharges, monitoring and odour controls, collection systems and intelligence gathering, bathing waters, combined sewer overflows and effluent quality. There is a comprehensive investigation into combined sewer overflows and a series of projects carried out under the heading Priority Hazardous Substances.

This programme will also support the 21st century drainage programme led by Water UK.


Programme Lead(S)

Howard Brett

Wastewater

Laura Shudall

Sewage Sludge
United Utilities Water Limited

 

Sub-categories


 

Projects


 

Municipal Sewage; One Man's Waste, Another Man's Treasure!

Project Status Project Completed

 

Specification for Communication protocol for Water Meters with Electronic Outputs

Project Status Project Completed

 

Specification of Performance Requirements and Test Methods for Electronic Outputs of Water Meters

Project Status Project Completed

 

Circular economy - water treatment sludges

Project Status Project Commenced

As water treatment process intensify to meet new standards in the face of deteriorating raw water quality, including the need to install clarification process at existing works, the volume of waste sludge is likely to increase, and so is the demand for chemicals (such as coagulants).

This issue is compounded by diminishing outlet opportunity, with traditional routes such as land restoration at landfill sites reducing and recycling to agriculture becoming less reliable due to changes in regulations (WINEP / Farming Rules for Water). Alternative outlets, such as incineration, are increasingly unpalatable given the sectors Net Zero ambitions.

Given the likely increase in water sludges produced, the reducing opportunities to recycle, and the forecast increase in demand for chemicals such as coagulants there is a need to identify alternative uses / outlets for water treatment sludges. This needs to include external markets, but also resource recovery, either for direct re-use in the treatment assets or to reduce demand from other sectors.

Note - This project is limited in scope to the circularity of sludge reuse. A separate proposal has been drafted that investigates the possible impacts of contaminants (PFAS) in water sludges as to their likely future use and long-term viability of a circular economy of water sludges.

 

Prioritisation of circular economy research opportunities for the UK & Irish water industry

Project Status Project Completed

 

Response to National Bioresources Strategy - prioritisation of opportunities

Project Status Project Commenced

The National Bioresources Strategy identifies key areas of R&D off the back of the strategy.

One key recommendation for R&D is the prioritisation of recovered resources and understanding the scalability and market requirements. 

 

EFFECTS OF SEWAGE SLUDGE APPLICATIONS TO A CALCAREOUS AGRICULTURAL SOIL ON SOIL MICROBIAL ACTIVITY AND THE IMPLICATIONS FOR AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY AND LONG TERM SOIL FERTILITY

Project Status Project Completed

 

Effects of Sewage Sludge Applications to Agricultural Soils on Soil Microbial Activity and the Implications for Agricultural Productivity and Long Term Soil Fertility

Project Status Project Completed

 

EFFECTS OF SEWAGE SLUDGE APPLICATIONS TO AGRICULTURAL SOILS ON SOIL MICROBIAL ACTIVITY AND THE IMPLICATIONS FOR AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY AND LONG TERM SOIL FERTILITY

Project Status Project Completed

 

Effects of Sewage Sludge Applications to Agricultural Soils on Soil Microbial Activity and the Implications for Agricultural Productivity and Long-Term Soil Fertility: Phase III

Project Status Project Completed

 

Monitoring and Control of the Potato Brown Rot Bacterium

Project Status Project Completed

 

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF SEWAGE EFFECTS OF SEWAGE SLUDGE APPLICATIONS TO AGRICULTURAL SOILS ON SOIL MICROBIAL ACTIVITY AND THE IMPLICATIONS FOR AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY AND LONG TERM SOIL FERTILITY

Project Status Project Completed

 

Application of Phosphorus in Biosolids to Agricultural Soils

Project Status Project Completed

 

Application of Phosphorus in Industrial Biosolids Applied to Agricultural Soils - Review

Project Status Project Completed

 

Beneficial Effects of Biosolids on Soil Quality and Fertility

Project Status Project Completed

 

Beneficial Effects of Biosolids on Soil Quality and Fertility – Literature Review

Project Status Project Completed

 

Phosphorus Lifecycle Management

Project Status Project Completed

 

Replacement Figure 3

Project Status Project Completed

 

The Agronomic and Environmental Impacts of Phosphorus in Biosolids Applied to Agricultural Land: A Review of UK Research

Project Status Project Completed

 

The Environmental Impact of Phosphorus from the Agricultural Disposal of Sewage Sludge -Stage 2

Project Status Project Completed

 

The Environmental Impact of Phosphorus from the Agricultural Use of Sewage Sludge - Final

Project Status Project Completed

 

Validation of Guidelines for the Sustainable Application of Phosphorus in Biosolids to Agricultural Soils

Project Status Project Completed

 

The Environmental Impact of Phosphorus from the Agricultural Disposal of Sewage Sludge - Stage 1

Project Status Project Completed

 

The Environmental Impact of Phosphorus from the Agricultural Disposal of Sewage Sludge - Stage 3

Project Status Project Completed

 

The Signficance of Sewage Sludge as a Source of Phosphorus Loss from Agricultural Land to Surface Waters : A Literature Review

Project Status Project Completed

 

Identification of Priority Organic Contaminants in Sewage Sludge Volume 1 containing the main report

Project Status Project Completed

 

Organic Contaminants in Sewage Sludge Applied to Agricultural Land

Project Status Project Completed

 

Pentachlorophenol (PCP) and chloranil as sources of PCDD/ Fs to sewage sludge and sludge amended agricultural soils

Project Status Project Completed

 

Survey of PCDD/ Fs and Non- Ortho PCBs in UK Sewage Sludges

Project Status Project Completed

 

A Survey of E. coli in UK Sludges

Project Status Project Completed

 

E. coli in U. K. Mesophilic Anaerobically Digested Sludges

Project Status Project Completed

 

Enteric Pathogen Survival in Sewage Sludge-Amended Agricultural Soil

Project Status Project Completed

 

Methods for the Detection and Enumeration of Pathogens in Biosolids

Project Status Project Completed

 

Pathogens in Biosolids - The Fate of Pathogens in Sewage Treatment

Project Status Project Completed

 

Review and Status of Current Methods for the Detectionof Verocytotoxic Escherichia Coli,Salmonella Enteritidis PT4, Salmonella Typhimurium DT104, Shigella sonnei and Campylobacter Jejuni in treated a

Project Status Project Completed

 

The Content and Fertilizer Value of Sulphur and Magnesium in Sewage Sludge

Project Status Project Completed

 

DRAFT - Gaining Quality Protocols for Sewage Sludge

Project Status Project Completed

 

Sewage and the Regulatory and Legal Interpretation of the Definition of Waste - Part 1

Project Status Project Completed

 

Sewage and the Regulatory and Legal Interpretation of the Definition of Waste - Part 2

Project Status Project Completed

 

Comparative Environmental Aspects of Available Biosolids Routes

Project Status Project Completed

 

Integrated Waste Management

Project Status Project Completed

 

Determining Energy Yield from Various Co-digestible Wastes

Project Status Project Completed

 

Sewage Sludge: A Fuel or a Waste?

Project Status Project Completed

 

Effectiveness of Anti- Flooding Devices in Sewers and Drains

Project Status Project Completed

 

Fats, Oils and Greases (FOG) - Where we are and where we could be - The feasibility of biological dosing into sewer systems and the development / specification of a protocol

Project Status Project Completed

 

Food Waste Disposers - Consequences for the Water Industry of Widespread Market Penetration

Project Status Project Completed

 

Long Term Monitoring of Detention Tanks

Project Status Project Completed

 

Long Term Monitoring of Detention Tanks - Final Report

Project Status Project Completed

 

Pumped detention storage tanks

Project Status Project Completed

 

Rodent Control In Sewers

Project Status Project Completed

 

Rodents in Sewers - Appendix

Project Status Project Completed

 

Sewerage for the 21st Century: Executive Summary and Programme of Action

Project Status Project Completed

 

Sewerage for the 21st Century: Executive Summary and Programme of Action

Project Status Project Completed

 

Sewerage for the 21st Century: Volume Four - Statutes and Codes of Practice

Project Status Project Completed

 

Sewerage for the 21st Century: Volume One - Data Collection & Management and Operation & Maintenance

Project Status Project Completed

 

Sewerage for the 21st Century: Volume Three - Lifestyle and Environmental Factors

Project Status Project Completed

 

Sewerage for the 21st Century: Volume Two - Active Operational Control of Sewerage Systems

Project Status Project Completed

 

Storm Sewer Data

Project Status Project Completed

 

The Incidence and Impact of Exfiltration from Sewers - Volumes I and II

Project Status Project Completed

 

The Use of Open Innovation to Address a Technical Challenge Sewer Blockage

Project Status Project Completed

 

Infiltration detection

Project Status Project Completed

There are several methods recognised to detect infiltration (CCTV, Electroscan etc) but all appear to have shortcomings that prevent them being as effective as is needed. Infiltration seems to be an intractable problem for several companies in the south of England (and others to a lesser extent) and can only be remedied where measurable (short of wholesale replacement/relining).

This suggestion is to engage with universities/academia to suggest and pilot alternative technologies

 

BQ06 - A holistic review of the impact of reducing the operation of sewer overflows on organic load to works, sludge production, carbon and GHG emissions.

Project Status Project Commenced

Currently the application of climate change to the DWMP and to LTDS has been carried out differently by companies. 

Companies require tools that take the UKCP18 climate model outputs and convert them into usable factors that can be applied within hydraulic models.  REDup has been created to enable the risk from climate change to be applied to hydraulic models.

The current REDUP tool provides information based on climate Projection RCP8.5.  Government guidance and regulatory requirements are now requesting evidence from Modelling to include Climate Projections for all climate scenarios.  Companies are being asked to produce this information with many more time horizons. The outputs of the tool need to consider how the data can be interpolated between years and whether the tool is capable of carrying out multiple year interpolation as well.

The tool also can produce outputs that are equally statistically valid for the same request.  Additional supporting information is required to explain this to our regulators.

We need a tool to comply with the current regulatory and statutory requirements and we need to work with our regulators during this project to capture any additional expectations for delivery as part of DWMP29 and PR29.

We need to prepare the tool to provide factors for more epochs that will allow us to react more quickly to direction from government through the planning process.

 

BQ06 - FOG Charging - Should foodservice wastewater charges reflect FOG content?

Project Status Project Commenced

The project objective will be providing a ‘risk-based’ charging system for all FOOD SERVICE ESTABLISHMENTS (FSE’s – that include hospitality, commercial, restaurant and foodservice [both takeaway and seated]) kitchens based on the risk from FOG (fat, oil & grease + foodwaste) in the wastewater discharges from those FSE kitchens.

Ofwat to support the ‘risk based’ wastewater charging scheme in accepting that ALL kitchens that provide food in individual portions for consumption on or off the premises, will discharge wastewater that contains FOG & foodwaste. Currently FSE’s are billed in same way as domestic households, where there is an assumption that 92.5% of the clean water registered through the water meter is returned to the sewer as wastewater. No account is taken of the ‘risk’ to the public sewer from the content of that wastewater and consequently only the FSE’s that create blockages are considered a risk under Section 111 Water Industry Act 1991. In reality all FSE’s discharge FOG and billing based on that risk to the sewer and sewerage wholesaler operations.

FSE kitchen discharges are considered to be legally classified as  ‘trade effluent’, but to manage and enforce them as ‘full trade effluent’ customers would be logistically, physically and financially infeasible.
This project seeks to provide an alternative ‘half-way-house’ approach of a risk-based charging system that treats all FSE’s equally, regardless of their discharge location and size.
The FSE’s should be required to pay wastewater charges commensurate with their risk to sewerage wholesaler operations. If the risk is mitigated using certified grease management systems and supported by certified contractors for cleaning and maintenance, the cost of that risk is reduced.

The project objective would be to propose and recommend suitable FSE tariffs and appropriate percentage risk factors for FSE charging i.e., should the FSE with no grease management be charged 100% more (i.e., double the wastewater charges), but this charge can be mitigated back towards the normal 92.5% of the clean water used (by volume) by fitting effective and efficient grease management, recovering the maximum amount of FOG. The emphasis would then be placed on the ‘producer (polluter) pays’ as extended producer responsibility to drive behaviour change. This then supports the circular economy, zero pollution by 2040 and no CSO use.

 

BQ05 – C04 Source and pathway control of non-sanitary pollutants

Project Status Project Commenced

The Environment Agency is starting to move towards more ‘end of pipe’ permitting of hazardous substances. For example, AMP8 will see the introduction of nanogram level limits on Cypermethrin and microgram limits on some very hard to remove dissolved metals. 

The 3 rounds of the Chemical Investigations Programme have identified the presence of a number of hazardous substances in sewage (and biosolids). CIP4 will monitor for an expanded range of substances and will find more at levels that give rise to environmental concerns.

Technology trials conducted under CIP2 revealed that many of these hazardous chemicals are very difficult to remove and the technologies themselves are very expensive. Furthermore, no single technology would remove all the chemicals of concern and many simply transferred the chemicals of concern from effluent to biosolids, thereby moving the problem not resolving it.

If we are unable to develop improved source and pathway control measures, then our only option for managing new chemicals permit limits is going to be expensive end of pipe treatment.

 

End-of-Pipe Standards for Wastewater Disinfection Sites

Project Status Project Completed

 

GWRC - Investigation of Membrane Bioreactor Effluent Water Quality and Technology

Project Status Project Completed

 

GWRC Energy and Resource Recovery from Sludge - State of Science Report

Project Status Project Completed

 

Impact of Extended Storage on Sewage Treatment

Project Status Project Completed

 

Maximising the Value of Biogas: Volume 1 - Summary Report

Project Status Project Completed

 

Membrane Bioreactors for Municipal Wastewater Treatment - Report of the GWRC Research Strategy Workshop

Project Status Project Completed

 

Membrane Bioreactors for Municipal Wastewater Treatment - State of the Science Report

Project Status Project Completed

 

Nitrogen and Phosphorus Removal Technologies - A Technical Reference Manual

Project Status Project Completed

 

Sustainable WWTW for Small Communities Vol I: Sustainability and the Water Industry (Part Of Set)

Project Status Project Completed

 

Tightening WwTW Emission Standards - A Review of the Treatment Technologies And Their Impact On Climate Change

Project Status Project Completed

 

Tightening WWTW Emission Standards - The Potential of Low Energy Treatment Technologies to Minimise the Impact on Climate Change

Project Status Project Completed

 

Economic Assessment of Management Options for WwTW Wastes

Project Status Project Completed

 

Maximising the Value of Biogas: Volume 1 - Summary Report

Project Status Project Completed

 

Maximising the Value of Biogas: Volume 2 - Technical Report

Project Status Project Completed

 

National Screen Evaluation Facility - Inlet Screen Evaluation Comparative Report (1999–2015)

Project Status Project Completed

 

National Screen Evaluation Facility, Inlet Screen Evaluation Comparative Report (1999-2011)

Project Status Project Completed

 

Sustainable WWTW for Small Communities Vol II: BPSO Methodology Handbook (POS)

Project Status Project Completed

 

EC Bathing Waters Directive Enterovirus Research

Project Status Project Completed

 

Evaluation of T90 Decay Rates for a Range of Micro-organisms Indicative of Sewage Contamination: Phase 2 - Building and Validation of Predictive Models

Project Status Project Completed

 

Evaluation of T90 Decay Rates for a Range of Micro-organisms Indicative of Sewage Contamination: Phase I - A Review of Documented Historical Laboratory-Based Studies and Field Applications

Project Status Project Completed

 

Investigation of Bathing Waters Classification Approaches

Project Status Project Completed

 

Preparation for a New Bathing Water Directive: Costing the Second Reading Amendments of the Proposed Revisions to the Bathing Water Directive

Project Status Project Completed

 

Relationships between Enterovirus, Salmonella and Bacterial Indicator Organisms in Bathing Waters

Project Status Project Completed

 

Verification of Bacteroidetes Microbial Source Tracking with Emperical Ground Truth Data

Project Status Project Completed

 

BQ05-H04-Microbial standards and wastewater - what next? (a slightly less-than-big question)

Project Status Project Completed

Water companies are facing a 'perfect storm': After a wet winter, storm overflows are very high on the political agenda; Wild swimmers expect better protection, and pressure mounts for more inland bathing waters; the Covid-19 pandemic has generated massive interest, not just in pathogen surveillance but in the 'risk' attached to discharges, both continuous and intermittent; there remains interest in revising standards for bathing and shellfish waters, to recognise pathogens rather than indicators; qPCR is now a routine approach for detecting the signal of any organism; the spread of antimicrobial resistance through wastewater and biosolids, although unproven in scale, also sits high on the agenda; reuse schemes are a larger part of water resource management, be it for potable or agricultural use; and the microbial quality of biosolids will always be of concern to stakeholders and regulators.

Do we understand this evolving framework and how should we respond? We are, after all, primarily concerned with the protection of public health - is gaining a better understanding of this an area we should be more active in promoting? How would we respond if challenged to reduce the perceived 'risk'? Do we even know if there is a 'risk'?

 

A Framework for Cost Benefit Analysis in Odour Control Projects

Project Status Project Completed

 

Best Practicable Means (BPM) - A Guidebook for Odour Control at Wastewater Treatment Works

Project Status Project Completed

 

Odour Control in Wastewater Treatment - A Technical Reference Document

Project Status Project Completed

 

Odour Standards for the Wastewater Industry

Project Status Project Completed

 

A Procedure for Estimating Emissions of Pollution Inventory Substances from Sewage Treatment Works

Project Status Project Completed

 

Development of a Procedure for Estimating Emissions of Pollution Inventory Substances from Sewage Treatment Works

Project Status Project Completed

 

Development of a Protocol for Estimating Effluent Emissions of Pollution Inventory Substances from Sewage Treatment Works Volume I - Main Report

Project Status Project Completed

 

Further Development of a Protocol for Estimating Effluent Emissions of Pollution Inventory Substances from Sewage Treatment Works- Volume I Main Report

Project Status Project Completed

 

Identification of the Source of Priority Substances in Sewage Catchments

Project Status Project Completed

 

Identifying the Sources of Listed Substances in Diffuse Inputs to Sewage Treatment Works

Project Status Project Completed

 

Further Development of a Protocol for Estimating Effluent Emissions of Pollution Inventory Substances from Sewage Treatment Works: Volume II Software Manual - Supplement to UKWIR Report 02/WW/25/1 - S

Project Status Project Completed

 

Better Regulation:Integrated Catchment Regulation

Project Status Project Completed

 

Characterisation and Treatment of Water Industry Waste Streams for Landfill Disposal

Project Status Project Completed

 

Comparison of Member State Implementation and Reporting of Five Waste Water Related European Council Directives

Project Status Project Completed

 

Methodologies for Catchment Based Consents

Project Status Project Completed

 

The Impact of Recent Changes in Waste Legislation on Sewerage Networks and Wastewater Treatment Works

Project Status Project Completed

 

WwTW Consent Tightening - Investigation of Current Issues

Project Status Project Completed

 

Alternative Approaches to Bacterial Reduction for WwTW Discharges: Phase 1, Desk Study

Project Status Project Completed

 

Alternative Approaches to Bacterial Reduction for WwTW Discharges: Phase 2 Field Trials and UV Desk Study

Project Status Project Completed

 

Dangerous Substances and Priority Hazardous Substances/ Priority Substances under the Water Framework Directive: Initial Report: A Comparison between Options and Costs for Source Control Versus End-o

Project Status Project Completed

 

Dangerous Substances and Priority Hazardous Substances/Priority Substances under the Water Framework Directive

Project Status Project Completed

 

Priority Hazardous Substances, Trace Organics and Diffuse Pollution (Water Framework Directive): Screening Study and Literature Review of Quantities in Sewage, Sludge and Effluent

Project Status Project Completed

 

Priority Hazardous Substances, Trace Organics and Diffuse Pollution (Water Framework Directive): Surface Water Drains and Intermittent Discharges from Sewer Networks

Project Status Project Completed

 

Priority Hazardous Substances, Trace Organics and Diffuse Pollution (Water Framework Directive): Urban Catchment Study and Assessment of Diffuse Inputs

Project Status Project Completed

 

Priority Hazardous Substances, Trace Organics and Diffuse Pollution (Water Framework Directive):Treatment Options and Potential Costs

Project Status Project Completed

 

Ribble SIMCAT Pilot Study - Assessment of Relative Contributions and the Impact of Control Measures on Water Quality

Project Status Project Completed

 

Scoping Study for the Chemicals Investigation Programme (Dangerous Substances and Priority Hazardous Substances/ Priority Substances under the Water Framework Directive)

Project Status Project Completed

 

Source Control of Phosphorus from Domestic Sources - Options and Impacts

Project Status Project Completed

 

Water Framework Directive: Sustainable Treatment Solutions for Achieving Good Ecological Status

Project Status Project Completed

 

Basis for a Programme of (Chemical) Investigations to be Carried Out by the Water Industry During the AMP5 Period

Project Status Project Completed

 

Pharmaceutical reduction at STWs – cost and effectiveness

Project Status Project Completed

 

A Review of the Setting of Iron Limits for Wastewater Treatment Works Effluents

Project Status Project Completed

 

Forecasting the Deposition and Biological Effects of Excess Carbon from Sewage Discharges

Project Status Project Completed

 

Implications of Potential New Measures and Standards Required under the Water Framework Directive for Natura 2000 Sites

Project Status Project Completed

 

Microbiological Inputs to the Environment from Sewerage and Sewage Treatment Works

Project Status Project Completed

 

Performance and Whole Life Costs of Best Management Practices and Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems

Project Status Project Completed

 

SUDS - Increased Liability for the Water Industry - Phase 2

Project Status Project Completed

 

WW03 Forecasting The Deposition and Biological Effects of Excess Organic Carbon from Sewage Discharges for the Purposes of the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (DIR91/ 271/ EEC) BenOss Version 3

Project Status Project Completed

 

A Literature Review of the Efficacy of Natural Systems in Removing Faecal Indicator Bacteria

Project Status Project Completed

 

Dangerous Substances in Discharges: Setting Consent Conditions and Assessing Compliance

Project Status Project Completed

 

Detecting and Responding to Sewer Blockages

Project Status Project Completed

 

Economic Level of Service for Sewer Blockages

Project Status Project Completed

 

Evaluation of Matrix Effect during the Analysis of Enteroviruses in Wastewater, Natural Waters and Sediments

Project Status Project Completed

 

Investigations into Flow Regimes at Sewage Treatment Works (Parts 1 & 2)

Project Status Project Completed

 

Long Term/ Least Cost Planning for Wastewater Supply-Demand

Project Status Project Completed

 

Measurement of Low Flows at Wastewater Treatment Works (WWTW)

Project Status Project Completed

 

The Efficacy of Natural Wastewater Treatment Systems in Removing Faecal Indicator Bacteria

Project Status Project Completed

 

The New Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) - What are the Implications for the Water Industry?

Project Status Project Completed

 

Virus Sensitivity of the Plaque Assay Technique

Project Status Project Completed

 

Performance of Storm Tanks

Project Status Project Completed

 

Performance of Storm Tanks and Potential for Improvements in Overall Storm Management - Phase 2

Project Status Project Completed

 

Sewer Network & WwTW Integration

Project Status Project Completed

 

BQ06 - Treatment Options for Storm Overflows

Project Status Project Completed

In order to deliver the required improvements to progressively reduce the adverse impact of storm overflows as detailed in the Environment Act, opportunities to treat overflows need to be further explored including their application, costs and benefits.  

 

Performance of Storm Tanks and Potential for Improvements in Overall Storm Management - Phase 2: Technical Reference Manual

Project Status Project Completed

 

Code of Practice and Guidance on Water Use Restrictions

Project Status Project Completed

 

Code of Practice and Guidance on Water Use Restrictions

Project Status Project Completed

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