Wastewater treatment and use of reclaimed water: A descriptive analysis of the case of the Province of Jaén

Abstract

In 1991, Directive 91/271/EEC was approved, requiring that urban wastewater from EU countries be treated before being discharged, favoring its reuse. The exploratory analysis carried out allows us to affirm there are municipalities in Europe that do not treat sewage or do it incorrectly twentysix years after the approval of this norm. A reality that negatively influences the ecological and chemical state of water resources, natural ecosystems and biodiversity. Jaen, a province in southern Spain, with 64 urban centers forced to purify sewage, presents a high deficit in the purification capacity in 2017, with the volume of reused water being practically null. A situation that influences the conditions of the natural hydrological environment of the province.