Situation and Compliance Report on the Disposal of Urban Wastewater and Sludge in Scotland 2018

4. Compliance with the UWWTR

Compliance with the main requirements of the UWWTR is assessed per agglomeration. Three requirements are needed for full compliance, namely:

1. Collection of wastewater (as required by Regulation 4) for agglomerations with a population equivalent^[3] (p.e.) of 2,000 or more

2. Secondary treatment of the collected wastewater, i.e. adequate treatment level and treatment performance (as required by Regulation 5(1)); generally applicable to agglomerations with a p.e. of 10,000 or more, or agglomerations with a p.e. of between 2,000 and 10,000 that discharge to freshwaters or estuaries

3. More stringent treatment than secondary treatment, i.e. adequate treatment level and treatment performance (as required by Regulation 5(2)); generally applicable to agglomerations with a p.e. of more than 10,000 discharging into sensitive areas (Regulations 6, 7 and 8)

An agglomeration will only be categorised as fully compliant if these three requirements are met. This approach to monitor and assess compliance is consistent with the approach adopted by the European Commission^[4].