The new European Municipal Wastewater Directive marks a significant change of regulation for operators of municipal wastewater facilities. Stricter limit values, detailed documentation requirements and new standards for water treatment are increasing the pressure on municipalities and operators alike. This directive also presents an opportunity to make wastewater infrastructure more sustainable, resilient, efficient and transparent.
State-of-the-art measurement technology from VEGA plays a pivotal role in ensuring the success of this transformation. Precise level, pressure and flow measurement data provide the data for reliable, cost-effective, legally compliant operation of municipal wastewater facilities.
The revised EU Municipal Wastewater Directive aims to better protect bodies of water and significantly reduce emissions from wastewater treatment plants. Key areas of focus include:
For plant operators, this means one thing above all: Without reliable measurement data, compliance with the directive is virtually impossible.
Municipal wastewater facilities operate under challenging conditions and increasing regulation. Heavy rainfall, corrosive media, foaming and potentially explosive atmospheres place high demands on transmitter technology and data processing.
The directive requires:
Robust level, pressure and point level transmitters from VEGA enable reliable monitoring, even under extreme weather conditions.
A central component of the new Municipal Wastewater Directive is the detailed recording of flow volumes in sewer systems.
Continuous level monitoring enables:
State-of-the-art VEGA radar transmitters, in particular, enable reliable measurement - unaffected by debris, soiling or weather conditions. In combination with AI-supported data processing, they create intelligent sewer networks with significantly greater operational reliability.
The new municipal wastewater directive tightens the requirements relating to the documentation of impoundment and discharge events in stormwater overflow basins.
Precise measurement technology is absolutely necessary here:
In this context, non-contact radar measurement technology from VEGA offers distinct advantages over ultrasonic systems, particularly in the presence of foam, moisture and contamination. The universal Modbus interface also facilitates integration with standard data loggers.
Pumping stations are among the most energy-intensive components of municipal wastewater systems. And they have to operate 100% reliably at all times.
Modern measurement technology makes it possible to:
Maintenance-free VEGA radar and pressure transmitters, in particular, offer long-term benefits for operators, as they function reliably even under harsh operating conditions.
At the wastewater inlet, dependable flow measurement is crucial for process control and compliance with the new Municipal Wastewater Directive. Modern radar transmitters measure contactlessly and – operating independently of ambient conditions – are significantly more reliable than conventional ultrasonic systems.
Advantages of the latest measurement technology at the wastewater inlet:
Additional data loggers and flow meters ensure that measurement data is stored over the long term and remains transparent at all times.
Introduction of the fourth treatment stage is one of the most significant changes brought about by the new Municipal Wastewater Directive.
The aim is to remove persistent micropollutants (trace substances) such as:
Implementation requires the use of various processes, for each of which VEGA offers precise instrument solutions.
In this process, water flows through a layer of activated carbon. This activated carbon granulate binds contaminants from the water that were not removed during conventional purification.
Backwashing processes are monitored using, among other things:
This enables reliable and economical control of the plant’s filtration system according to demand.
Powdered activated carbon, which adsorbs micropollutants, is added to the water. Subsequent filtration separates the carbon particles, allowing them to be disposed of.
Instrumentation provides important data and control in this process:
Pressure transmitters and vibrating level switches, in particular, play a key role in ensuring stable plant operation.
Ozonation makes use of a powerful oxidising agent to chemically destroy trace substances or break them down into easily degradable components. Precise pressure monitoring is essential for this.
The deployed transmitters must continuously monitor the exact pressure in the pipework and be able to withstand aggressive media such as chlorine or ozone. This is the only way to ensure reliable operation.
In reverse osmosis, water is pre-filtered and then forced under high pressure through a semi-permeable membrane.
This removes even the tiniest of particles, such as bacteria, viruses or other contaminants.
Membrane fouling is monitored via differential pressure measurement, which also optimally and automatically initiates the cleaning process.
Phosphorus exists only in very limited quantities, which is why recovering this raw material is absolutely necessary. Extracting it from sewage sludge and sewage sludge ash involves various processes that rely on reliable measurement data.
Because control of these processes is technically complex, it requires:
Only stable processes can guarantee long-term, profitable recovery. VEGA offers a comprehensive range of products to meet the widely different requirements of the various processes.
Due to its scarcity, clean water is becoming an increasingly valuable resource worldwide. For this reason, and thanks to the steadily improving quality of wastewater treatment, the reuse of treated wastewater is becoming an increasingly important environmental factor – for example, for agricultural irrigation.
Demand-driven storage and distribution would not be feasible without suitable measurement technology. VEGA’s solutions in this area include high-precision transmitters for level measurement and pressure monitoring in tanks and pipelines.
Beside actual measurement, reliable processing, storage and documentation of data are also becoming increasingly important. VEGA offers a wide selection of field devices precisely tailored to your requirements and seamlessly integrated into your own or hosted management systems.
The following services are available to you free of charge on the myVEGA customer portal:
Professional data management is a crucial success factor, particularly in terms of legal compliance and auditability.
The new Municipal Wastewater Directive presents local authorities and plant operators with considerable technical and organisational challenges. At the same time, it provides the opportunity to make existing infrastructure more sustainable and efficient.
Modern measurement technology forms the basis for:
Investing early in robust transmitter technology, intelligent data analysis and digital process monitoring, lays the foundation for a future-proof wastewater infrastructure.