| Nature of Obligation
| Origin | Timing
| Outcome of Periodic Review |
| Improvement of sewage discharges: | EC Urban Waste-Water Treatment Directive
| | |
| —over 150,000 population equivalent |
| end-2000 with extensions/as soon as practicable
| Upgrade sewage treatment where necessary to secondary level treatment
|
| —between 10,000 and 15,000 pe |
| end-2005 | Upgrade sewage treatment where necessary to secondary level treatment
|
| —between 2,000 and 10,000 pe to freshwater and estuaries
| | end-2005 | Upgrade sewage treatment where necessary to secondary level treatment
|
| —less than 10,000 pe to coastal waters and less than 2,000 pe to freshwater and estuaries
| | end-2005 | Upgrade sewage treatment where necessary to "appropriate treatment" level (often secondary treatment)
|
| Eutrophic sensitive areas |
| 2004 | Install nutrient removal at 47 new designations
|
| Intermittent discharges | EC Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive
| No deadline specified in Directive | Improve around 4,500 unsatisfactory intermittent discharges in pricing period
|
| Bathing waters | EC Bathing Waters Directive
| Mandatory improvements as soon as practicable/guideline improvements over the pricing period
| Raise consistent compliance with mandatory standards to at least 97% and achieve a significant improvement in compliance with guideline standards by 2005, often by introducing disinfection processes
|
| Shellfish waters | EC Shellfish Waters Directive
| Early in the pricing period (Directive deadline passed)
| Implement improvement programmes to protect and improve existing and newly designated waters, often by introducing disinfection processes
|
| Special areas of Conservation (SACs) or Special Protection Areas (SPAs)
| EC Habitats and Birds Directives | As soon as practicable
| Investigate and implement improvement schemes which curtail abstraction (24 projects) or improve effluent discharges (33 sites)
|
| Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs)
| Domestic priority under Water Resources Act 1991
| | Investigate and implement improvement schemes which reduce over-abstraction (20 projects) or improve effluent discharges (34 sites)
|
| Other priority sites (low flow rivers) |
Domestic priority under Water Resources Act 1991
| | Investigate and implement improvement schemes (37 projects)
|
| Surface Water Abstraction | EC Surface Water Abstraction Directive
| Throughout the pricing period (Directive deadline passed)
| Where necessary, implement improvement programmes to protect and improve existing designations
|
| Improvements to river quality | EC Freshwater Fish Directive
| Throughout the pricing period (Directive deadline passed)
| Where necessary, implement improvement programmes to protect and improve existing designations
|
| River Quality Objectives | Domestic priority under Water Resources Act 1991
| No specified deadline | Implement programmes to eliminate by 2005 at least half of the shortfall in compliance with RQOs (ie up from 82% based on 1995-97 figures to at least 91%). Around 995 kms improved and 2,697 kms protected from deterioration during the pricing period
|
| Sewage sludge | Domestic priority/EC Use of Sewage Sludge in Agriculture Directive
| As required | Expand and upgrade sewage sludge treatment standards to meet increased volumes and higher standards
|
| First time (rural) sewerage | Section 101A, Water Industry Act 1991
| As required | Connect small settlements to sewerage system (315 schemes)
|
