HAZGONE at the key water sector conference in Berlin

At the Berlin conference, 169 water experts from different countries discussed solutions to the problem of hazardous chemicals in the water bodies of the Baltic Sea Region.

The conference “The Future of Water in the Changing World: Innovative solutions against PFAS and micropollutants” was organized by two projects, EMPEREST and APRIORA. The event marked the end of EMPEREST, while APRIORA still continues its work for another year. Both projects stem from EU legislation change, namely the revision of the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive.

The revised Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive sets new requirements especially concerning the removal of micropollutants from wastewater. To support the implementation of the directive in the Baltic Sea Region, EMPEREST and APRIORA projects are delivering solutions and validated results to operators, authorities and decision-makers. This coordinated effort will support the wave of investments needed in the near future for the quaternary treatment updates. Overall, to meet the requirements of the new directive in the whole Europe, the European Commission estimates total investment costs of €28.6 billion by 2040, of which €9 billion is related to micropollutant removal.

At the Berlin conference, Michel Sponar, Deputy Head of Unit at the DG Environment of the European Commission, explained the assessment process of the original Directive and outlined the main objectives of its revision. Thorough explanation of the planned timeline of its implementation for the Member States paired with the cost analysis guided participants through the landscape behind the set deadlines.

Michel Sponar, European Commission, delivering the presentation. Photo by Mariia Andreeva.

How can we make the EU policy into reality?

The panel discussion on this relatable topic featured representatives from different sectors that need to cooperate in the realization of the zero-pollution vision:

• Moderator: Lotta Ruokanen, Professional Secretary and Deputy Executive Secretary of the Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission (HELCOM)
• Henna Rinne, Finnish Ministry of the Environment
• Klaus Daginnus, German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety
• Paula Lindell, Finnish Water Utilities Association FIWA and EurEau Committee on Waste Water
• Ivar Ruubel, Tallinn Water Ltd

Many questions remain open for the wastewater sector: Where will the funding come from for the large-scale investments into the quaternary treatment? Will the wastewater treatment facilities be free to choose the technologies or will there be a recommended set to apply? And how to connect the energy-demanding technologies, such as ozonation, with achieving energy neutrality?

All panelists emphasized the need for transparency and clarity – and the importance of building trust when collaborating with municipalities, the spaces where the pollution happens and gets treated. Of course, it is also a question of financial resources, but not only the large investments into advanced treatment require them – capacity building is an important side to remember about.

“Interreg Baltic Sea Region Programme has existed for a while. The EMPEREST project has shown that in the Interreg BSR funding scheme we were able to fund projects that make the change,” emphasized Henna Rinne, who is also a member of the Interreg BSR Programme Monitoring Committee.

Conference participants. Photo by Mariia Andreeva

The PFAS question – and vital work on the upstream

Since the EMPEREST start in January 2023, and often precisely thanks to the project efforts, the knowledge and understanding about PFAS pollution has gradually increased in the Baltic Sea Region – however, its monitoring and regulation are still lagging behind. For instance, on the local level, Berlin aims to develop a comprehensive interdisciplinary PFAS strategy for the city, which is not easy as with every new piece of information new questions come up. One thing is clear: with PFAS, it is vital to prevent pollution from happening, as treating it is costly and highly complicated.

Prevention of pollution can be addressed through public procurement criteria: cities have the power to speed up a market transition towards toxic-free products with the procurement choices they make. It is also crucial to have a dialogue within the municipality with all responsible stakeholders.

Heidrun Fammler, introducing possible upstream measures for addressing organic micropollutants. Photo by Mariia Andreeva

Heidrun Fammler, Managing Director of the Baltic Environmental Forum Germany, addressed the audience with an inspiring intervention on public procurement as an instrument to reduce hazardous substances’ use, giving examples from another project – NonHazCity 3, dealing more with the ‘upstream’ part of the puzzle. The HAZGONE platform is what ties all these projects together, and it also got a separate introduction at this conference by Louise Floman, Policy Area Hazards Coordinator.

Louise Floman introducing the HAGONE platform to participants. Photo by Mariia Andreeva

Market of solutions

To boost the new partnerships and knowledge exchange, the EMPEREST final conference also featured an exhibition and market of solutions: interactive space for international projects and technology development companies to share their expertise.

The conference hosted several stands of stakeholders driving the transnational cooperation: Baltic Sea PFAS network, and the projects LIMIT, NurseCoast-II, Baltic PFAS Resolve, LIFE SIP WetEST, WaterMan, DigiWave, and Flextreat, in addition to the stands of EMPEREST and APRIORA, and the HAZGONE platform representatives mingling around those tables.

Behind another table, participants could learn about the intricacies of the delicate Baltic Sea ecosystem, and how regional governance can influence it, through a boardgame Ecosfera Baltica, developed by HELCOM & Julibert Games, funded by Nessling Foundation.

For water utilities, the innovative companies in Europe offering organic micropollutants’ removal and PFAS treatment exhibited their products: Mecana (Switzerland), Porelio (Germany), Probiko-Aqua (Poland), Solar Decont (Czech Republic), and Sulzer (Germany).

Tangible EMPEREST solutions, tested and available

When the EMPEREST concept development started back in 2019, the revision of the UWWT Directive was in its initial stages – and the document, outlining the treatment of organic micropollutants in all WWTPs over 150 000 PE, was finalized only five years later, in November 2024. This project, being truly ahead of its time, had first results of testing micropollutant removal ready exactly in time with the publishing of the revised Directive text.

The conference centered around the journey of the EMPEREST project, which concluded in December 2025. Leading expert organisations presented the project solutions ready for uptake, and valuable lessons learned from the process of testing and applying them in different contexts:

1. Methodological recommendations for the monitoring and assessment of PFAS in the aquatic environment, prepared by HELCOM Secretariat with the new regional assessment approach to PFAS in the Baltic Sea Region, based on the compilation of over 140 000 data points across all BSR countries.
2. PFAS risk-assessment plan and a tool for local authorities, launched by the Riga team (Riga Energy Agency, Riga Technical University, Riga Water). The tool takes a look at the whole water cycle, from upstream to downstream. It was developed and fine-tuned with feedback from over 18 cities, and is available in 8 languages.
3. Strategies and technological means for minimising organic micropollutant emissions from WWTPs, developed by University of Tartu and Gdansk Water Utilities Ltd., with support from water utilities in Tartu, Tallinn, Turku, Szczecin, Kaunas, and Riga. EMPEREST launched two sets of mobile containers to test the most effective trains of advanced wastewater treatment technologies on a pilot scale – and they continue now supporting the region even after the project’s end.
4. Training package and increased capacities of water experts, prepared by Berlin University of Technology. The EMPEREST online training package is available for everyone in the Baltic Smart Water Hub.

Study visits: from drinking to wastewater, and digital support

The conference concluded with parallel practical study visits participants. One group of 40 participants went to the Waßmannsdorf Wastewater Treatment Plant (1,7 mln PE) of the local water supplier Berliner Wasserbetriebe (BWB), where the focus was on new nutrient removal flocculation filtration stage. Another 45 participants went to see how the PFAS groundwater remediation in done in practice close to the territory of the former Berlin Tegel airport.

The third option was a practical stakeholder workshop organised by the APRIORA team for end-users of the developed risk assessment tool. The APRIORA tool to assess risks and prioritise upgrades with quaternary treatment techniques at small and mid-sized WWTPs can be used by target groups directly in GIS to produce catchment risk maps, and to test mitigation options at WWTPs à priori.

This was the first chance for stakeholders outside the APRIORA project team to test the tool, with around 30 people benefitting from this opportunity. Led by the developer and his teaching team, the participants were guided through applying the tool step-by-step. Using open-source QGIS software on their own devices, participants were encouraged to gain hands-on experiences, share worries and also to shape the future development of the tool through their own ideas.

The conference fulfilled its mission to be a platform for many key stakeholders to meet and discuss the most acute topics in the field! Joint thinking, exchanging, and planning took place among the project partnerships of EMPEREST and APRIORA, spanning into the HAZGONE platform that now takes all these results further!

Programme Manual Online

Choose