Problems to be solved: a great number of isolated tourism facilities of various types in different locations throughout Europe do not yet have a convenient sewage treatment system or could benefit from improvements to the existing one. For such facilities, connection to a sewer main is often not feasible or at least isn't the preferred or cost-effective option. Decentralised sewage treatment, on the other hand, has to cope with particular problems. This project intends to develop guidelines for decentralised but internally integrated water and wastewater management systems that are able to solve problems, such as:
- high seasonal and/or weekly wastewater flow and load variations,
- poor maintenance capabilities of owners,
- lack of water resources,
- lack of receiving water bodies.
n order to implement such sewage treatment technologies on a large scale, they need to be adapted and proven in very different environmental conditions, from high mountains to sea shores, from mediterranean to northern climates.
Additionally, the technology knowledge must be disseminated to owners of tourism facilities as well as to planners of such sewage treatment systems.
Scientific objectives and approach
The project aims at preparing guidelines for sustainable water management (SWM) and treatment of wastewater for tourism facilities in remote areas. This overall objective implies several other scientific and technological subordinate objectives, as the development of
- cost-effective water management;
- reclamation concepts for treated wastewater;
- separation technologies in sanitation;
- reed bed treatment systems (RBTS or constructed wetlands) for treating the wastewaters of tourism facilities in remote areas with their particular characteristics, e.g. strongly varying hydraulic and organic loads. Thirteen specific pilot plants will be erected at typical facilities (camping sites, tourist farms, mountaineering shelters etc.) as well as in different climates (Atlantic, continental, Mediterranean and alpine) and different SWM systems will be tested on the plants.
EU and national guidelines for SWM and RBTS for the involved countries will be drafted in co-operation with national authorities and experts. The project work will be completed according to four logical steps to achieve the goal of creating guidelines for a sustainable water and wastewater management in combination with constructed wetlands in tourism activities.
The first step will be a planning process to work out variants of sustainable alternatives for 13 different tourism sites in typical tourist surroundings (seashore, mountains, other attractions) in various regions of Europe (Latvia, Germany, Austria, Italy) with a discharging capacity from 50 to 1.200 pe.
The second step will be the implementation of one variant for each of the 13 pilot plants.
The third step will be research and monitoring of the constructed plants focusing on the following topics: hygienic, physical and chemical performance, use of technical innovative appliances (reclamation of nutrients and water, separation technologies), social acceptance and economic advantages.
The fourth step will be to draft common European guidelines, as well as national guidelines for sustainable water and wastewater management in tourism facilities, focusing on cost-effectiveness and ecology. This work will be accompanied and completed by marketing agencies in the four countries promoting and disseminating tis information.
Expected impacts
The development and analysis of new technologies and their dissemination through this project will lead to:
- wide application of water and wastewater management technologies;
- the development of guidelines for their application, and hence;
- the realisation of schemes with high efficiency; and
- positive environmental consequences on the surroundings of tourism resorts, e.g. camping grounds or hotels at the sea shore or mountain shelters in sensitive environments.
