Partitioning of European water framework directive priority substances in greywater treatment systems and implications for sludge management.

Across the globe, pressures on potable water supplies continue to increase. Recognition of this trend and news of the looming problem of wtaer shortages has stimulated a growing interest in wastewater reuse/recycling. One option increasingly explored is the on-site treatment and reuse of greywater, especially for non-potable uses such as toilet flushing and irrigation. However, the composition of greywater is highly variable and can contain a wide variety of micropollutants, including the priority and priority hazardous substances identified in the European Water Framework Directive. The work reported in this paper was undertaken within the broader context of the EU ScorePP project, which aims to support authorities and industry in meeting the requirements of the WFD by designing suitable source control programmes to effectively limit/cease the emissions of these substances into urban environments. The specific goal of the research presented here was to determine whether more widespread deployment of on-site household greywater treatment could form a useful emission control barrier to help achieve the goals of the WFD, and further to investigate the likely fate of PS and PHS during the ensuing sludge treatment and/or disposal.