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3.2.2        Response of cities to water quality degradation

In 2011/2012, only 14 of the 28 capitals[1] of EU Member States could be considered to be in full compliance with the EU Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (UWWTD): Vienna, Copenhagen, Tallin, Helsinki, Paris, Berlin, Athens, Budapest, Vilnius, Amsterdam, Lisbon, Madrid, Stockholm and London. A large number of European capitals are still not fully compliant with the requirements of the UWWTD: Brussels, Sofia, Nicosia, Prague, Dublin, Rome, Riga, Luxembourg, La Valetta, Bucharest, Bratislava and Ljubljana (European Commission, 2016).

Nevertheless, looking back to the past 25 years, clear progress has been made in reducing emissions into urban rivers and lakes due to connections to sewers, the introduction of wastewater treatment and the upgrading of earlier treatment plants. Implementation of the UWWTD, together with national legislation, has led to improvements in wastewater treatment across much of the European continent (EEA 2012a). For instance, Brussels’ River Zenne, has been notorious for being one of Belgium's most polluted rivers. All effluents from the Brussels Capital Region were discharged into the Zenne without treatment until 2007, when the completion of new sewage treatment plants began to remediate this problem (Zenne, n.d.).

In some cities of Eastern Europe, the recent construction and operation of wastewater treatment plants has achieved reduced emissions and water quality improvements, linked to the implementation of the UWWTD during and after their accession to the EU (see the example of Bucharest below).

In other parts of eastern and southern Europe, still much progress needs to be made. For instance, in Serbia only 16% of the population is connected to wastewater treatment plants and the largest cities, including Belgrade, Niš and Novi Sad release their wastewater untreated into the passing rivers (Vujovic´ & Kolakovic´, 2015), the Danube and the Nišava (Sava river).