Phosphorus Removal from Catchments: Technology or Source Control?

Although over the past 25 years there has been a significant fall in the river length with an excessive concentration of P,  there are still 45% of rivers in England and 7% in Wales that fail the WFD phosphorus standard.  The largest source of P in rivers derives from sewage effluent contributing around 60% of the total, although of this only about 35% is unavoidable P (ie derived from excreta). The rest arises from a number of largely controllable sources such as detergent and industry.  The remainder of the contributory P load derives from agriculture.  Compliance with the phosphorus requirements of the Water Framework Directive will require phosphorus removal at several hundred sewage works across the UK including small, unmanned works in remote areas.  In addition compliance may also require meeting a much tighter discharge consent than the present 1 or 2 mg/l total phosphorus.  At present the available options for P removal are chemical precipitation using iron chloride or sulphate and biological nutrient removal (BNR).  Both of these are expensive in terms of cost, energy and carbon footprint and they are both unproven at delivering P consents below 1 mg/l with a 95 percentile compliance.  

As a result the industry needs to look both to the opportunities available at the catchment level for controlling the total P input to the catchment, as well as the more conventional end-of-pipe approach involving wastewater treatment.  A number of innovative solutions are now becoming available at the catchment and end-pipe level, to deliver the tighter standards required and these have been trialled successfully at both demonstration- and pilot-scale.  

This event explores our current thinking on catchment-based control of P and considers how this is being applied within the industry.  It also looks in more detail at the innovative treatment solutions and the P consents that these solutions can reliable deliver.  The speakers at this event are all actively involved in developing and applying novel solutions and it will provide delegates with the present status of the industry in its challenge to deliver enhanced water quality.

Speakers include:

Gordon Reid, Wastewater Service Strategy Manager, Scottish Water

Dr Andrew Davey, Senior Consultant, WRc

Ruth Barden, Environment & Catchment Strategy Manager, Wessex Water

Jonathon Westlake, Environmental Regulation Manager, Thames Water

Lois Oulton, Process Strategy Analyst, United Utilities

Shaun Stevens, Key Account Manager, meps

Victoria Wilson, Innovation Scientist, Dwr Cymru Welsh Water

Carle Redwood, Senior Innovation Engineer, Dwr Cymru Welsh Water

Andrea Wilson, Waste Water - R&D  Project Supervisor, Severn Trent Water

Dr Miller Alonso Camargo-Valero, Lecturer in Water and Environmental Engineering, University of Leeds