EMPEREST: Advancing PFAS Monitoring and Micropollutant Removal

The EMPEREST project, funded by Interreg BSR, was built on a long shared experience in water management development. Most members of the partnership had already worked together in many projects prior to this one. Initially, EMPEREST was created to address the needs of local authorities and the water sector in the upcoming implementation of the recast of the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (rUWWTD). Another emerging issue at the time of planning the project was the growing awareness of pollution from PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) and other organic micropollutants in the environment.

EMPEREST created three main solutions to address the identified challenges. First, the EMPEREST project partners mapped, in close collaboration with a network of external experts, the situation of PFAS pollution in the Baltic Sea and the catchment area, and gave guidelines for further monitoring of the pollution. Second, EMPEREST built a tool with which local authorities and water utilities can identify possible PFAS pollution hotspots in their area. Third, the project piloted wastewater treatment technologies in seven different wastewater treatment plants to collect information on their effectiveness and feasibility. In addition, the project created an extensive training package on PFAS for local authorities, water service providers, national water associations, environmental centres and other relevant multipliers. The training package is available at the Baltic Smart Water Hub.

Solution 1, Methodological recommendations for monitoring and assessment of PFAS in the aquatic environment, aimed to support especially international governmental organisations and national public authorities in their work. The solution paves the way for creating a comprehensive picture of PFAS pollution in water bodies in the Baltic Sea region. The sample assessment system proposed can be used by a larger group of stakeholders to understand the trends of PFAS, including the alarming amounts of PFAS accumulated in fish according to the proposed threshold values in new legislation. Solution 1 is also used in the work on the Baltic Sea Action Plan and the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region update, and at OSPAR at the North Sea.

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