The sewage treatment plant in Geiselbullach will have to meet even stricter requirements in the future. Operations manager Veronika Völker and Amperverband Managing Director Thomas Mösl see themselves well prepared. © gore
With a new directive for wastewater, the EU Commission wants to make the environment cleaner. The new rules must be implemented by sewage treatment plants. In the largest in the district in Geiselbullach, they see themselves well equipped for the changeover. However, one important question remains unanswered.
County – The current municipal wastewater policy is past its prime. She is more than 30 years old. A lot has happened in these three decades. Above all, we now know much more about the pollutants in wastewater – and their effects. And the topic of energy consumption is also being looked at more closely today than it was at the beginning of the 90s. That is why the EU Commission is launching a new directive.
Wastewater treatment plant to become energy-neutral
This is intended to oblige the operators of sewage treatment plants to operate in an energy-neutral manner. In other words, they have to generate the energy they consume themselves – for example through wind or solar energy or the use of sewage sludge to generate gas.
In addition, larger sewage treatment plants are to be obliged to install a so-called fourth treatment stage. This will then be used, for example, to remove microplastics or residues for medicines from the water.
In Geiselbullach, by far the largest sewage treatment plant in the district, the Commission's plans are relatively relaxed. Around 83 percent of the energy required is already generated on site, explains plant manager Veronika Völker. "We are well on our way to energy neutrality." This will be achieved by generating electricity from sewage gas and a solar system on the roof of the administration building. Further PV systems are planned. In about four years, the complex should be completely self-sufficient.
The plant consumes around 4500 megawatt hours of electricity per year. Per day, that's about as much as a family of four consumes per year. The main energy guzzler is the aeration of the clarifiers. It requires about 80 percent of the energy used, explains the plant manager.
Another point in the new Wastewater Directive is to be the removal of micropollutants – such as drug residues or microplastics. The so-called fourth cleaning stage would require not inconsiderable modifications – or would be tantamount to a completely new construction of the plant. However, it is not yet certain which variant the Amperverband will choose as the operator, explains its managing director Thomas Mösl. "The last word has not yet been spoken."
Millions for innovations
It is also not yet clear which technical implementation will be chosen for the removal of micropollutants. Before the energy crisis, the variant with ozone treatment was still favored, according to Mösl. But it consumes a lot of electricity. That is why the treatment of wastewater with activated carbon is now the favorite. But nothing has been decided yet.
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The new directive also envisages that wastewater treatment plant operators will make their work more transparent and publish key performance indicators. Operations manager Völker is also relaxed about this requirement. Regular energy audits are already being carried out. All energy consumption would be put to the test.
One thing is certain: the implementation of the new requirements will not be cheap. Veronika Völker and Thomas Mösl assume a "million amount". In order to cope with this, the wastewater fee will have to rise.
But this is still a long way off. The current so-called water law permit for the sewage treatment plant in Geiselbullach runs until 2029.
Facts and figures about the sewage treatment plant in Geiselbullach
The sewage treatment plant in Geiselbullach is by far the largest of its kind in the district. Every year, 13 to 14 million cubic meters of wastewater are treated there. The cesspool has then partly come a long way. At the Geiselbullach plant, wastewater from Olching, Gröbenzell, Eichenau, Puchheim, Maisach and Germering is treated. In addition, there are Gilching and Weßling (district of Starnberg) and Bergkirchen (district of Dachau). In total, the plant is responsible for the legacies of around 170,000 people.
The sewer network of the Amperverband is 500 kilometers long. A total of 61 pumping stations ensure that everything keeps moving.
The site of the sewage treatment plant is around ten hectares in size. A total of 100 employees and 15 trainees work there.