[VD02] Wastewater treatment
Key message
In recent years, the amount of wastewater treated by secondary or tertiary treatment processes increased, while primary treatment processes have closed. The amount of wastewater treated through secondary treatment processes increased by 150 % since 2000 or from 30 million m3 (in 2000) to almoust 45 million m3 (in 2019). There were almost no tertiary wastewater treatment processes in Slovenia in 2000, and in 2019, 72% of wastewater or 113 million m3 of wastewater was treated by tertiary process.
Definition
This indicator shows the quantity of industrial and municipal/urban wastewater and the share of population whose wastewater is treated in municipal/urban and combined wastewater treatment plants classified according to the level of treatment under the methodology determined in the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive. This methodology was also adopted in the Slovenian Decree on the Emission of Substances in Waste Water Discharged from Urban Waste Water Treatment Plants (OJ RS No 35/96, 90/98, 31/01, 62/01, 41/2004-ZVO-1). In general terms, primary treatment is mechanical and/or chemical. It includes removal of settleable organic and inorganic solids by sedimentation and removal of materials that float (scum) by skimming. Secondary treatment is biological. It removes most organic matter and 20–30% of nutrients. Tertiary treatment removes (apart from organic matter) most nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus).
Charts
Waste Water Treatment Plants Database, Slovenian Environment Agency, 2020; Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia, 2021 (26. 03. 2021)
| primary[%] | secondary[%] | tertiary[%] | primary[number] | secondary[number] | tertiary[number] | population - total[number] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 27.60 | 11.29 | 1.48 | 547253 | 223824 | 29329 | 1982603 |
| 1999 | 25.11 | 13.60 | 1.95 | 499358 | 270588 | 38832 | 1988887 |
| 2000 | 26.66 | 11.88 | 1.89 | 530682 | 236410 | 37656 | 1990272 |
| 2001 | 24.07 | 16.04 | 1.42 | 479455 | 319620 | 28289 | 1992035 |
| 2002 | 21.95 | 18.97 | 1.40 | 437976.60 | 378491 | 27982 | 1995718 |
| 2003 | 21.92 | 19.74 | 1.53 | 437652.80 | 394206 | 30489 | 1996773 |
| 2004 | 21.04 | 22.65 | 8.88 | 420195.80 | 452372 | 177409 | 1997004 |
| 2005 | 19.69 | 22.32 | 12.13 | 394063 | 446719 | 242719 | 2001114 |
| 2006 | 3.90 | 39.52 | 12.15 | 78431 | 793732.60 | 244043 | 2008516 |
| 2007 | 3.85 | 39.94 | 12.35 | 77688 | 806478.80 | 249462 | 2019406 |
| 2008 | 1.31 | 41.29 | 13.49 | 26580 | 835204.40 | 272897 | 2022629 |
| 2009 | 0.45 | 39.70 | 16.38 | 9264 | 810742.40 | 334616 | 2042335 |
| 2010 | 0.46 | 40.19 | 17.12 | 9506 | 823564.60 | 350834 | 2049261 |
| 2011 | 0.46 | 40.28 | 18.21 | 9350 | 826681.60 | 373818 | 2052496 |
| 2012 | 0.46 | 38.32 | 20.10 | 9403 | 787858.40 | 413382 | 2056262 |
| 2013 | 0.45 | 36.12 | 23.34 | 9350 | 743798.20 | 480557 | 2059114 |
| 2014 | 0.45 | 34.70 | 24.94 | 9264 | 715447 | 514199 | 2061623 |
| 2015 | 0 | 31.71 | 28.31 | 0 | 654286.60 | 584012 | 2063077 |
| 2016 | 0 | 28.56 | 33.51 | 0 | 589516 | 691651 | 2064241 |
| 2017 | 0 | 24.01 | 41.99 | 0 | 496167 | 867638 | 2066161 |
| 2018 | 0 | 23.71 | 43.51 | 0 | 490785 | 900739 | 2070050 |
| 2019 | 0 | 23.87 | 43.64 | 0 | 498795 | 911810 | 2089310 |
Waste Water Treatment Plants Database, , Slovenian Environment Agency, 2021 (26. 03. 2021)
| primary[1000 m3] | secondary[1000 m3] | tertiary[1000 m3] | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 66151.33 | 25620.20 | 2801.33 |
| 1999 | 62145.95 | 33223.48 | 4308.74 |
| 2000 | 68076.81 | 30131.58 | 3370.87 |
| 2001 | 55558.45 | 33590.20 | 3092.81 |
| 2002 | 57903.69 | 38674.66 | 2748 |
| 2003 | 46980.96 | 38484.78 | 2633.08 |
| 2004 | 43996.79 | 48404.51 | 12744.28 |
| 2005 | 48536.02 | 45641.87 | 26656.19 |
| 2006 | 8779.24 | 72965.49 | 27932.59 |
| 2007 | 8035.17 | 77945.41 | 27209.49 |
| 2008 | 4560.30 | 90994.02 | 30693.96 |
| 2009 | 466.81 | 90124.35 | 41063.11 |
| 2010 | 457.62 | 98010.39 | 47192.61 |
| 2011 | 450.00 | 76962.45 | 42545.15 |
| 2012 | 433.37 | 82198.59 | 48225.55 |
| 2013 | 446.50 | 84355.51 | 65568.32 |
| 2014 | 434.50 | 78101.52 | 78043.75 |
| 2015 | 0 | 59527.85 | 73587.24 |
| 2016 | 0 | 57034.60 | 92501.12 |
| 2017 | 0 | 45311.92 | 104983.01 |
| 2018 | 0 | 46292.84 | 115767.27 |
| 2019 | 0 | 45054.14 | 113137.87 |
Goals
- To ensure protection of all surface and groundwater bodies on the territory of the Republic of Slovenia from organic pollution, nitrogen and phosphorus input and microbiological pollution.
- To construct municipal wastewater treatment plants and sewer networks for all agglomerations specified in the Operational programme for the discharge and treatment of urban wastewater.
- To insure proper collection, discharge and treatment of urban wastewater by the end of 2021 with construction of small treatment plants for individual buildings in sensitive areas and by the end of 2030 in all other areas.