Reflecting on a successful 58th Essener Tagung under the motto “Impulses from Europe“
FiW e.V. provided impulses for the implementation of the revised Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive with two presentations in the field of energy management of wastewater treatment plants and wastewater surveil-lance of pathogens
From March 26 to 28, 2025, the Institute of Environmental Engineering at RWTH Aachen University (ISA) together with FiW as co-organizer, the Institut zur Förderung der Wassergüte- und Wassermengenwirtschaft (IFWW) and the Landesamt für Natur, Umwelt und Verbraucherschutz NRW invited to the 58th Essen Conference in Eurogress Aachen. Under the guiding theme “Impulses from Europe - Challenges, innovations and practical solutions”, the focus was on current developments at EU level.
A central topic was the revised EU Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (EU-UWWTP), which brings far-reaching requirements for municipal wastewater treatment. The conference provided an ideal forum for discussing concrete strategies for implementing these European requirements in research, planning and operation. The revised EU-UWWTP pursues ambitious goals: Among other things, it calls for the reduction of energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, the introduction of a 4th treatment stage for larger sewage treatment plants, the monitoring of selected pollutants and pathogens, as well as a strengthening of the circular economy and digitalization. As a result, wastewater treatment plants are faced with the prospect of a conflict between climate protection targets, increasing energy-intensive requirements for environmental protection and the efficient management of resources.
In this context, the contributions of FiW an der RWTH Aachen e. V. precisely reflect the relevant fields of action:
- Model-based energy management strategies under consideration of volatile energy markets in the case of the large-scale sewage treatment plant in Cologne Stammheim
Fabio Voit M.Sc., FiW an der RWTH Aachen e.V.; J. Grohs, BET GmbH, Aachen; S. Kraus, Stadtentwässerungsbetriebe Köln AöR
The revised municipal wastewater treatment directive requires large wastewater treatment plants to be climate-neutral in operation from 2045 and comprehensive measures to increase energy efficiency. The presentation used a model-based approach to show how wastewater treatment plants can actively respond to volatile energy markets and reduce emissions at the same time by intelligently controlling energy use and the use of their own electricity. Using the example of the large wastewater treatment plant in Cologne Stammheim, an optimized energy management strategy was developed that takes into account load shifting potential, storage strategies and market integration - a practical tool for meeting future EU requirements.
- WBEready – Roadmap for adaptive wastewater monitoring to implement the EU Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive
Dr. Frank-Andreas Weber, FiW an der RWTH Aachen e.V. für das WBEready-Konsortium
Article 17 of the new directive includes new tasks for monitoring municipal wastewater for a variety of human pathogenic viral pathogens and bacterial pathogens with antimicrobial resistance (AMR). In the joint project WBEready, a roadmap was developed with funding from the Federal Ministry of Health to provide the public health service with practical, research-based tools and measures for the development and expansion of wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) for the implementation of the EU Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive.
Our conference contributions are published in the conference proceedings. With its contributions to the 58th Essen Conference, FiW clearly demonstrates its role at the interface between research, regulation and practical implementation. The projects presented are exemplary of the complex challenges facing the industry with the new Urban Wastewater Directive - and of the expertise required to proactively shape them.
As a transfer institute with strong links to practice, FiW offers expertise, strategies and tools to support municipalities, operators and authorities in the technical, organizational and strategic implementation of EU-UWWTP. Whether through simulation-based decision-making, monitoring concepts or practical transformation paths - FiW clearly positions itself as an innovation and implementation partner for modern and future-oriented water management.
