In homesteads or houses where there are no water and sewage treatment systems, residents still pour sewage into leaky, often farm-style pits, which become breeding grounds for bacteria, and more and more household chemical residues are found in the sewage: various cleaners, detergents, disinfectants. Chemical substances released into the environment contaminate the soil and groundwater. Leaky pits pollute groundwater and the wells fed by it, pose a risk of contaminating groundwater, which is the main source of drinking water in Lithuania, the press release states.
There are still cases where wastewater is illegally released into the environment: some of those who do so justify that they do not have the funds to handle the wastewater in accordance with the requirements. Some simply don’t want to invest, or their homes don’t have access to centralized sewage treatment networks, so they choose environmentally unfriendly methods.
As Kastytis Gedminas, advisor of the Pollution Prevention Policy Group of the Ministry of the Environment, commented, the main goal of the Wastewater Management Information System (NTIS) created by the Ministry of the Environment, which started operating on January 1, is to ensure that untreated sewage does not enter the environment.
“By using the data collected by this system, individual wastewater management systems will be controlled more efficiently. Environmentalists will be able to rely on the accumulated information, and responsible companies will also be able to see risky places in the information system and take timely preventive measures to control potential sources of pollution. It will be easier to prevent cases where illegal sewage transporters or private individuals discharge sewage in non-designated areas or into a nearby water body. There will also be an opportunity to control whether wastewater is properly cleaned in the facilities”, explained K. Gedminas.
From now on, owners of individual houses who have installed biological treatment and septic tank types of individual wastewater treatment facilities should not forget to conduct an examination of the wastewater released into the environment once a year, which will confirm whether the purified water released into the environment meets the standards and does not pollute the environment.
A solution in the homestead and on the construction site
Diana Lubė, director of the territory maintenance business of the environmental management company “Ecoservice”, reminds that if there is no possibility to manage wastewater centrally or to install local wastewater treatment facilities, it is too expensive, and a much more environmentally friendly alternative than polluting outdoor booths is biotoilets, suitable for use in summer houses, country houses or gardens. in communities where people go on vacation or rest on weekends.
During the construction or repair of a residential building, there are usually no amenities in the building temporarily, so residents performing construction or repair work can also choose an environmentally and health-friendly solution during this period – biotoilets.
“People’s awareness is growing, they are interested in and choose more environmentally friendly alternatives, and untidy outdoor booths or sewage-polluted environments are no longer tolerated,” said D. Lubė.
A biotoilet corresponds to the concept of a movable object and is not a structure, therefore, when building it on a small plot or in densely populated areas, the distance to the boundary of the plot is not regulated, it is not necessary to observe protection zones from sources of drinking water and wells.
If necessary, together with the biotoilet, you can additionally use cubic water containers, and in the warm season – outdoor sinks. Depending on the needs of the residents, but not less often than every four weeks, biotoilets are cleaned with high-pressure equipment and special chemical means, residents do not need to take care of the maintenance of the biotoilet themselves.
Lithuania has implemented the EU requirements
One of the most important measures aimed at protecting the environment from the harmful effects of discharged wastewater is the European Union Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive. It provides that at least 98 percent wastewater generated in settlements with more than 2 thousand inhabitants would be collected by centralized wastewater collection systems.
In 2017, the European Commission informed Lithuania that in 58 settlements too few households were connected to the centralized sewage system, but in the last few years the requirement of the directive was implemented in 48 settlements. Currently, the requirements of this directive no longer apply to Kybarts, Eišiškės, Ariogala and Šeduvai, because they have less than 2,000 inhabitants. people.
Out of the remaining 6 settlements, in four – Nemenčinė, Pabrade, Švenčionės and Švenčionėliai – the development projects of centralized sewage collection systems are currently completed – until the end of 2024, residents’ housing is planned to be connected to them.
Ensures centralized sewage supply
Whether it will be possible to manage sewage centrally depends not only on the wishes of the residents. Some of the capital’s residents faced a situation where, after the construction of several dozen individual houses, there were challenges in connecting them to the sewage management infrastructure, because a sewage pumping station is needed, which costs approximately 150,000 PLN. euros. How do you solve similar problems?
K. Gedminas, advisor of the Pollution Prevention Policy Group of the Ministry of the Environment, commented that it is the responsibility of municipalities to ensure the availability of drinking water supply and wastewater services to residents, while the responsibility of the public drinking water supplier and wastewater manager is to ensure the development of infrastructure and the connection of consumer devices to the drinking water supply and wastewater. handling networks.
