Impact in Scotland of UK and EC Sewage Legislation

Abstract

The EC Directive (91/271/EEC) concerning urban waste water treatment has far‐reaching financial and technological implications for local authorities in Scotland which are responsible for sewerage. Increased capital consent limits and additional financial assistance from central government are essential if the requirements of the legislation are to be met. Although the Directive is welcomed in general terms, the sections of the legislation dealing with the identification of sensitive waters and the provision of primary treatment for coastal discharges to less sensitive waters are of limited environmental significance in Scotland. The elimination of sewage sludge disposal at sea will create severe difficulties for Scottish authorities as a high percentage of sewage sludge is currently disposed of at sea. Each of the main alternative disposal options presents environmental, financial and technical problems and, in the case of incineration, the certainty of widespread unpopularity with the public.

Volatile organic compounds in digested United Kingdom sewage sludges

“…Sewage sludge disposal on agricultural land is widely practiced in Europe and North America. Of the 1.08 million t (dry weight) of sewage sludge currently produced annually in the U.K. 51 % is disposed to agricultural land (1). This is expected to increase as a result of a ban by the European Commission (EC) on the disposal of sludge to the sea by 1998 and in compliance with the new EC Directive to improve wastewater quality (2).…”

Nutrient fluxes from domestic wastewater: A national-scale historical perspective for the UK 1800–2010

“…where Cx,y is proportion of population directly connected to sewer in grid square (x,y), Px,y is u_type=MOD_DIST&data_rate=R_HOUS_AMENITY_GEN_no_wc; Kinnersley, 1988) and in 19915% (Rural Development Commission, 1989Anderson, 1992). …”

Treatment and Disposal of Sewage Sludge in the Mid‐1990s

“…As a method of sludge disposal, it appears to have lasted for about a hundred years. It was referred to by Ashton(') as the method of disposal for Salford, Man-Chester and London around 1902, and was adopted by Glasgow in 1904 (19). It was also used as a temporary measure for cities further inland and, by 1977, thirty licences had been issued by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) under the Dumping at Sea Act 1974, covering 8.3 million tonnes of sludge from ports in England and Wales (20).…”