Project Page Views: [ 722 ]
| Project Metadata Element | Details |
| Project Title | Review of the Legislative Requirements and Responsibilities Relating to On-Site Wastewater Treatment Systems and their Impact on Water Quality |
| Research Area | Water |
| Project Acronym | |
| Principal Investigator or Lead Irish Partner | Helen Simcox |
| Lead Institution or Organisation | Scotland and Northern Ireland Forum for Environmental Research (SNIFFER) |
| Lead Country | Ireland |
| Latitude, Longitude (of Lead Institution) | 55.95714, -3.18513 |
| Lead Funding Entity | Environmental Protection Agency |
| Approximate Project Start Date | 05/06/2008 |
| Approximate Project Finishing Date | 05/12/2008 |
| Project Website (if any) | |
| Links to other Web-based resources | |
| Project Keywords | Water Quality; Eutrophication; Rural population; Wastewater treatment |
| Project Abstract | There are increasing concerns about the impact of the rural population on water quality and in particular its contribution to eutrophication. This is especially the case in areas where the population is highly dispersed and relies mainly on on-site wastewater treatment systems or small rural wastewater treatment works. There is limited information on the number, location and level of maintenance of these systems or the impacts of associated discharges on water quality and ecology. This project was a desk-based study for the Environmental Regulators within Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. It aimed to improve knowledge of the impacts of a dispersed population pattern on water quality and to inform future legislation, policies and procedures to address pollution related to wastewater treatment provision in rural areas. The outputs are intended to be used to review the consenting, administration, data handling and regulation of on-site wastewater treatment systems. The core deliverables were (1) Review of legislative requirements and responsibilities and identification of best practice; (2) Literature review of the impacts of on-site wastewater treatment systems, including cumulative loadings and impacts on water quality; (3) Identify methods used to estimate / quantify the nutrient loadings in discharges from small WWTW on water quality and provide recommendations on a suitable methodology for use by the Environment Agencies. |