Testing graywater treatment plants

Are American and Australian tests suitable for use in Europe?

Water reuse in countries with drought and water shortage is necessary in order to provide sufficient water quantity for public, agricultural or private use. In addition to the use of rainwater, the usage of purified graywater is becoming increasingly important.

There are no standards in place in Europe for testing graywater plants. Countries such as the USA, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia, on the other hand, have developed testing standards. Testing graywater plants offers the advantage that the manufacturer obtains a certificate which guarantees the quality of his product under normal conditions and under different stress conditions.

Testing graywater plants creates trust in the functional efficiency of the treatment technology and the quality of the treated water. In performance standards limit values are given depending on the end use. Authorities, designers and consumers are thus provided with an instrument enabling them to decide on suitable technologies.

It is important for graywater treatment systems to be tested by an independent third party that is authorized to perform such a test. In Europe, consideration is currently given to drawing up a testing standard for graywater plants. The question is whether existing standards are suitable for use in Europe. The contribution presents the American and Australian standards and discusses to what extent these standards are suitable for testing in Europe. This question will also be considered against the backdrop of the international marketing of graywater plants.

x

Related articles:

Issue 02/2014 Consequences of the Production Products Regulation

Water-endangering substances and small wastewater treatment plants –

On 24 April 2011, the new Construction Products Regulation (CPR) came into force and, on 1 July 2013, replaced the previously valid Construction Products Directive in its entirety. The requirements...

more
Issue 02/2018 Decentralized rainwater treatment plants

Technologies and testing procedures

Progressive soil sealing combined with an increasing occurrence of heavy rainfall events represents an enormous challenge for urban drainage. In addition, a significant proportion of the pollution of...

more
Issue 02/2014 German small wastewater treatment plants

Prospects in Europe from a supplier‘s point of view –

Because of the keen competition here in Germany, many suppliers of small wastewater treatment plants are heading to the other European countries. They mostly hope to escape from the German competitive...

more
Issue 02/2015 Actual developments

Standards for small wastewater treatment plants

German and European standards are well established technical standards and they reflect the state of the art. Standards are a good instrument to manufacture comparable products and to distribute them...

more
Issue 03/2023 MALL

Separators and rainwater management systems made of concrete

Based in the town of Donaueschingen, Mall GmbH offers innovative system solutions for rainwater management, separators, wastewater treatment plants, pump and plant technology, as well as L-shaped...

more