Assessing the environmental impacts of wastewater treatment in seasonal tourist areas

NURSECOAST-II pilots investigate innovative approaches that can improve wastewater treatment performance under changing seasonal conditions.

As part of the project, an Environmental Impact Assessment based on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was conducted to evaluate the environmental performance of selected wastewater treatment technologies. The assessment considers not only treatment efficiency but also energy and material consumption, emissions, and other relevant environmental impacts throughout the operation of the systems.

The assessment covered technologies including nanobubble aeration, compact biological-chemical treatment systems, and constructed wetlands. These solutions were selected for their potential to provide effective treatment for small-scale systems experiencing significant fluctuations in wastewater loads.

The LCA follows the principles of ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 and uses the ReCiPe 2016 Hierarchist Endpoint methodology. Environmental impacts are assessed across several categories, including climate change, eutrophication, human toxicity, ecotoxicity, resource use and other environmental effects. Where sufficient operational data were available, seasonal and off-season conditions were also considered.

The results provide an environmental profile of the technologies and help identify the processes and inputs that contribute most significantly to their environmental footprint. This information can support the development and selection of wastewater treatment solutions that are better adapted to seasonal tourist destinations.

By combining innovative treatment technologies with environmental assessment, NURSECOAST-II contributes to more sustainable wastewater management in the Baltic Sea Region and supports efforts to reduce nutrient discharges into the Baltic Sea.

Read the full report to learn more about the LCA methodology, assessed technologies, environmental indicators and results.

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