The Scotland & Northern Ireland Forum for Environmental Research ("SNIFFER") has awarded a contract to water and environmental consultancy WRc for a research project aimed at improving 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. Much of the population of Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland is highly dispersed and served by on-site wastewater treatment systems (OSWTS) or small rural wastewater treatment works (WWTW). There is growing concern about their impact on water quality, particularly, in relation to the risk of eutrophication. Information on OSWTS is limited and, because their effluent usually drains to sub-soil soakaway, it has been assumed that nitrogen and phosphorus are dissipated in the soil. However, recent research suggests that many OSWTS may impact on water quality because of inappropriate location and/or maintenance.
The WRc project is part of a larger research programme designed to (a) improve knowledge of the impacts of a dispersed population pattern on water quality; and, (b) to provide sound scientific evidence to underpin and inform future legislation, policies, procedures and potential capital investment programmes to address pollution related
to wastewater treatment provision in rural areas. The project has three core objectives: to undertake a review of legislative requirements and responsibilities and the identification of best practice; to review the scientific literature on the impacts of OSWTS and small WWTW on water quality, including the identification of methods used to estimate/quantify the nutrient loadings/impacts from discharges at small WWTW on water quality; and to make recommendations on a suitable methodology for use by the environment agencies.
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