EU targets met as 96% of wastewater treated for reuse
An equivalent of 24 million full bathtubs a day is the amount of wastewater produced by households and businesses in 464 urban areas of Greece, of which 96.2% is processed in the country’s 232 biological treatment plants.
The remaining 3.8% (for which Greece had to pay EU fines from 2015) goes into septic tanks, which remain an important source of groundwater and surface water pollution.
According to data from the European Environment Agency, on the occasion of World Toilet Day last Friday, Greece has achieved the goals set by European legislation. However, irrigation water reuse rates remain very low, at only 2%.
A total of 10.5 million out of Greece’s population of 11.9 million use biologically treated water. The wastewater of 1.1 million people ends up in septic tanks or is reused around the home, garden or farm, while that of 0.26 million is pumped directly into the sea.
