EU takes UK to court for failure to ensure proper wastewater treatment

The European Commission has decided to refer the UK to EU Court of Justice for its failure to ensure proper treatment of urban wastewater in 17 of its agglomerations.

According to the charges, the EU member country has failed to ensure adequate treatment of urban wastewater in these towns.

The stringent EU standards for untreated waters are applicable for its member states, in order to help them avoid the risks to human health, inland waters and marine environment.

The authorities have identified inadequate treatment in four of the identified 17 agglomerations – Banchory, Stranraer, Ballycastle, and Clacton.

Another unit Gibraltar does not even have an operational wastewater treatment facility, the Commission said.

Ten other units discharge wastewater into sensitive areas such as freshwaters and estuaries.

The operating treatment facilities in those units – Lidsey, Tiverton, Durham (Barkers Haugh), Chester-le-Street, Winchester Central and South (Morestead), Islip, Broughton Astley, Chilton (also known as Windlestone), Witham and Chelmsford – fail to meet the specified treatment standards.

EU has also cited excessive storm water overflows in collecting systems serving Llanelli and Gowerton units for the case. Though sustainable urban drainage solutions are put into place in the agglomerations, the present high spill rates and lack of compliance scope before 2020, prompted EU to lodge the complaint.

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Image: Gibraltar does not even have an operational wastewater treatment facility. Photo: Courtesy of Steve / Wikipedia.