Wastewater treatment works in Scotland have evolved substantially in the past 20 years. Investments were designed to protect the environment from the adverse effects of urban waste water discharges and were not specifically focused on odour control. Odours continued to present issues at some sites, and in 2005, a statutory Code of Practice for odour control at sewage works in Scotland was published by the Scottish Executive.
A review of best practise in wastewater treatment plant operating practices with regards odour management and state of the art monitoring technology is required. The review is expected to include a review of current UK and EU best practises, which can be used as the basis for benchmarking performance. It is expected that the review will inform an assessment of selected Private Finance Initiative and Scottish Water operated wastewater sites with a view to identifying improvements to existing practise of the selected sites. The research output will be used as a resource for Local Authorities` Environmental Health Officers, Scottish Water, SEPA, PFI Wastewater plant operators and other stakeholders to support collaborative work that delivers improvements in wastewater site operation and delivers improvements to odour control.
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Perform a literature review of best practise in odour management at wastewater treatment works, both in Scotland and the EU. This review may include a consultation workshop with other EU regulators.
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Assess performance of odour control at selected wastewater treatment plants. The assessment will collect information for each site, including odour complaints, relative location, stakeholder engagement activities undertaken, and the odour monitoring procedure currently in place.
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Identify improvement recommendations for a selection of wastewater plants in Scotland.