The conference “The Future of Water in the Changing World: Innovative solutions against PFAS and micropollutants” was organized by two sister projects, EMPEREST and APRIORA, marking the successful ending of EMPEREST, while APRIORA continues its work for another year. Both projects stem from EU legislation change, namely the revision of the directive regulating urban wastewater treatment.
Opening of the conference: Lotta Lehti, project coordinator at UBC Sustainable Cities Commission, welcoming the participants. Photo by Mariia Andreeva.
The revised Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive sets new requirements especially concerning the removal of micropollutants from wastewater. To support the implementation of the directive in the Baltic Sea Region, EMPEREST and APRIORA projects are delivering solutions and validated results to operators, authorities and decision-makers. This coordinated effort will support the wave of investments needed in the near future for the quaternary treatment updates. Overall, to meet the requirements of the new directive in the whole Europe, the European Commission estimates total investment costs of €28.6 billion by 2040, of which €9 billion is related to micropollutant removal.
At the opening of the conference, Michel Sponar, DG Environment of the European Commission, gave a deeper insight into the regulatory contexts, explaining the assessment process of the original Directive and outlined the main objectives of its revision. Thorough explanation of the planned timeline of its implementation for the Member States paired with the cost analysis guided participants through the landscape behind the set deadlines. “We hope to give some certainty to the sector,” explained Mr Sponar in his address to the participants.
Michel Sponar, DG Environment, European Commission, guiding conference participants through the legislative changes. Photo by Mariia Andreeva.
With the topical and regulatory contexts laid out, the conference moved to the next step:
How can we make the EU policy into reality?
The panel discussion on this relatable topic featured representatives from different sectors that need to cooperate in the realization of the zero-pollution vision: Henna Rinne from the Finnish Ministry of the Environment, Klaus Daginnus from the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, Paula Lindell representing Finnish Water Utilities Association FIWA and EurEau Committee on Waste Water, and Ivar Ruubel, COO of Tallinn Water Ltd. This panel was moderated by Lotta Ruokanen, Professional Secretary and Deputy Executive Secretary of the Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission (HELCOM).
What is needed for the wastewater sector in the immediate future? There are many open questions in the field right now: Where will the funding come from for the large-scale investments into the quaternary treatment? Will the wastewater treatment facilities be free to choose the technologies or will there be a recommended set to apply? And how to connect the energy-demanding technologies, such as ozonation, with achieving energy neutrality?
Panel discussion "How will we make the new EU policy into reality". Photo by Mariia Andreeva.
All panelists emphasized the need for transparency and clarity – and the importance of building trust when collaborating with municipalities, the spaces where the pollution happens and gets treated. Of course, it is also a question of financial resources, but not only the large investments into advanced treatment require them – capacity building is an important side to remember about.
“Interreg Baltic Sea Region Programme has existed for a while. The EMPEREST project has shown that in the Interreg BSR funding scheme we were able to fund projects that make the change,”
– Henna Rinne, Finnish Ministry of the Environment, member of the Interreg BSR Programme Monitoring Committee
Tangible EMPEREST solutions, tested and available
The conference centered around the journey of the EMPEREST project, coming to its end in December 2025. Leading expert organisations presented the project solutions ready for uptake, and valuable lessons learned from the process of testing and applying them in different contexts:
1. Methodological recommendations for the monitoring and assessment of PFAS in the aquatic environment. Markus Raudkivi from HELCOM Secretariat gave an impressive overview of the new regional assessment approach to PFAS in the Baltic Sea Region, based on the compilation of over 140 000 data points across all BSR countries. (Downloadable document with more context about it on the EMPEREST page)
2. PFAS risk-assessment plan and a tool for local authorities. Kamila Gruškeviča, Riga Technical University, and Māra Reča, Riga Energy Agency, introduced the developed tool, available in 8 languages, and shared the feedback and insights from 18 cities that tested it. (Downloadable documents with more context about it on the EMPEREST page)
3. Strategies and technological means for minimising organic micropollutant emissions from WWTPs. Taavo Tenno, University of Tartu, and Marek Swinarski, Gdansk Water Utilities Ltd., presented the mobile containers developed in the respective cities, and Taavo Tenno interviewed on stage six wastewater treatment plants from Turku, Szczecin, Tartu, Kaunas, Tallinn, and Riga about the main findings and highlights from testing the most effective trains of advanced wastewater treatment technologies on a pilot scale. (Downloadable documents with more context about it on the EMPEREST page)
4. Training package and increased capacities of water experts. Nikolaos Tzoupanos, Berlin University of Technology, led the audience through the training programme of EMPEREST and the resulting online training package available for everyone in the Baltic Smart Water Hub.
Introduction of the EMPEREST mobile pilot containers and piloting results from 7 cities. Photo by Mariia Andreeva.
The knowledge beyond
Despite the wide range of questions concerning the implementation of the Directive, it is steadily gaining clarity. We are rather proud to say the same about the topic of PFAS, although “clarity” is not something to use lightly in the case of these substances.
Since the EMPEREST start in January 2023, and not in the least due to our efforts, the knowledge and understanding about PFAS pollution has gradually increased in the Baltic Sea Region – however, its monitoring and regulation are still lagging behind. For instance, on the local level, Berlin aims to develop a comprehensive interdisciplinary PFAS strategy for the city, which is not easy as with every new piece of information new questions come up. One thing is clear: with PFAS, it is vital to prevent pollution from happening, as treating it is costly and highly complicated.
Prevention of pollution can be addressed through public procurement criteria: cities have the power to speed up a market transition towards toxic-free products with the procurement choices they make. It is also crucial to have a dialogue within the municipality with all responsible stakeholders.
To boost the new partnerships and knowledge exchange, the EMPEREST final conference also featured an exhibition and market of solutions: interactive space for 10 international projects and initiatives, as well as 5 technology development companies to share their expertise.
Among 10 international projects exhibiting their products and achievements on stands, a separate table was taken by the Ecosfera Baltica boardgame developed in HELCOM Secretariat to educate about the ecosystem approach to the Baltic Sea protection. Photo by Mariia Andreeva.
The conference concluded with parallel practical study visits participants. One group went to the Waßmannsdorf Wastewater Treatment Plant, treating the water of 1,7 mln PE with very high standards. Another group went to see how the PFAS groundwater remediation in done in practice close to the territory of the former Berlin Tegel airport. The third group took part in the practical stakeholder workshop offered by APRIORA for end-users of the developed risk assessment tool.
The conference fulfilled its mission to be a platform for many key stakeholders to meet and discuss the most acute topics in the field! Joint thinking, exchanging, and planning took place among the project partnerships of EMPEREST and APRIORA, with local and national experts from Germany, water utilities, water associations and environmental agencies, representatives of key water projects in the Baltic Sea Region and beyond, researchers, and companies developing technologies to remove PFAS and other organic micropollutants!
