Sustainable Wastewater Management: Is it Possible to Regulate Micropollution in the Future by Learning from the Past? A Policy Analysis

Florence Metz,Karin Ingold

doi:10.3390/su6041992

Abstract

This paper applies a policy analysis approach to the question of how to effectively regulate micropollution in a sustainable manner. Micropollution is a complex policy problem characterized by a huge number and diversity of chemical substances, as well as various entry paths into the aquatic environment. It challenges traditional water quality management by calling for new technologies in wastewater treatment and behavioral changes in industry, agriculture and civil society. In light of such challenges, the question arises as to how to regulate such a complex phenomenon to ensure water quality is maintained in the future? What can we learn from past experiences in water quality regulation? To answer these questions, policy analysis strongly focuses on the design and choice of policy instruments and the mix of such measures. In this paper, we review instruments commonly used in past water quality regulation. We evaluate their ability to respond to the characteristics of a more recent water quality problem, i.e., micropollution, in a sustainable way. This way, we develop a new framework that integrates both the problem dimension (i.e., causes and effects of a problem) as well as the sustainability dimension (e.g., long-term, cross-sectoral and multi-level) to assess which policy instruments are best suited to regulate micropollution. We thus conclude that sustainability criteria help to identify an appropriate instrument mix of end-of-pipe and source-directed measures to reduce aquatic micropollution.

Highlights

Water resource management has strongly relied on wastewater treatment to ensure water quality is maintained
In light of such challenges, the question arises of if such end-of-pipe solutions are a sustainable way of ensuring water quality in the future? what can we learn from the past? To answer such questions, policy analysis provides an overview of potential policy solutions, analyzes the functioning of policy instruments and evaluates their prospects of solving the policy problem at hand
To demonstrate which alternatives there are to solving water quality problems, we look at policy instruments previously introduced to tackle “traditional” water quality issues and provide an overview of potential future policy design and solutions

Summary

Introduction

Water resource management has strongly relied on wastewater treatment to ensure water quality is maintained. The historic political approaches to managing water quality are under new pressures, such as micropollution. There still remains a great deal of uncertainty concerning the ability of advanced treatment technologies, such as ozonation or activated carbon, to filter micropollutants and their increased energy needs and costs. In light of such challenges, the question arises of if such end-of-pipe solutions are a sustainable way of ensuring water quality in the future? The aim of this paper is to examine how sustainable water quality policies for the reduction of micropollution can be designed

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Conclusion