The project EMPEREST tests advanced treatment technology that helps water utilities and companies better remove PFAS and other organic micropollutants from wastewater.
Description
The EMPEREST project, funded by the Interreg Baltic Sea Region Programme 2021–2027, supports local authorities, service providers and policy-making community by strengthening the sustainable water management cycle. PFAS (Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) discharge management is one of the most pressing environmental challenges in the Baltic Sea Region. The holistic approach of the project to the elimination of PFAS and other persistent organic pollutants incorporates regional strategies for monitoring and assessment, technological advances in wastewater treatment, risk management assessment for cities, and training materials for water experts.
Are you interested in following the transnational work aiming at eliminating micropollutants from wastewater effluent? Subscribe to the newsletter and follow our LinkedIn account to receive all recent updates about the project!
Activities
The EMPEREST project has four activity strands to fulfill its aims. First, with the regional-level activities led by the project partner HELCOM, the project developed methodological recommendations to monitor PFAS group in the aquatic environment.
The Methodological recommendations for the monitoring and assessment of PFAS in the aquatic environment have been published! Discover the PFAS situation in the Baltic Sea Region in this publication.
On the local level, the project develops a PFAS risk assessment framework to identify and assess PFAS-related risks and propose relevant risk mitigation strategies. The PFAS risk-assessment tool is currently tested with various municipalities and will be published mid-2025.
A large part of the project looks into the wastewater treatment as a point source of organic micropollutants to the environment. EMPEREST aims to support water utilities to make informed decisions about effective treatment strategies and investment roadmaps for removing PFAS from wastewater streams. The project pilots advanced treatment technologies with mobile pilot containers to collect a comprehensive picture from the region and evaluate its effectiveness and economic viability to remove micropollutants. The thorough piloting at 7 wastewater treatment plants will demonstrate the efficient trains of technologies to other water utilities in the region. You can follow 2 mobile pilot containers on the project pages: 1) Gdańsk – Szczecin – Kaunas – Riga 2) Tartu – Tallinn – Turku.
To support all these activities, capacity development for local authorities and public service providers is arranged in EMPEREST to inform about the recent developments in the field and train with tailored materials and tools. The training programme will improve professional skills of wastewater management experts to be better prepared to the upcoming regulatory changes regarding micropollutants in effluents, thus strengthening the overall water sector resilience to emerging risks.
UBC Sustainable Cities Commission is leading the EMPEREST project, cooperating with expert partners on all project activities.
Results
- Methodological recommendations for the monitoring and assessment of PFAS in the aquatic environment have been published in March 2025.
Funding
The project EMPEREST co-financed by Interreg Baltic Sea Region helps to drive the transition to a green and resilient Baltic Sea region.
Partnership
- Union of the Baltic Cities Sustainable Cities Commission c/o City of Turku (FI)
- Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission – Helsinki Commission (HELCOM) (FI)
- University of Tartu (EE)
- Berlin University of Technology (DE)
- Turku University of Applied Sciences (TUAS) (FI)
- Gdańsk Water Utilities (PL)
- Water and Sewage Company Ltd of Szczecin (PL)
- Tartu Waterworks Ltd (EE)
- Tallinn Water Ltd (EE)
- “Kaunas water” Ltd (LT)
- Turku Region Wastewater Treatment Plant (FI)
- DWA German Association for Water, Wastewater and Waste DWA Regional group North-East (DE)
- Environmental Centre for Administration and Technology (LT)
- City of Riga (LV)
Associated organisations:
- City of Malmö
- "Riga Water" Ltd.
- Panevėžys Water Ltd.
- Jonava district municipality
- Taurage district municipality
- Swedish Environmental Protection Agency
- Finnish Water Utilities Association
Project information
The EMPEREST project supports local authorities, service providers and policy-making community by strengthening the sustainable water management cycle. The holistic approach to the elimination of PFAS and other persistent organic pollutants incorporates regional strategies for monitoring and assessment, technological advances in wastewater treatment, risk management assessment for cities, and training materials for water experts.