Wastewater Reuse Criteria In Greece

The sustainable management of water resources often requires the identification of wastewater as a valued
source of water. Although the benefits of wastewater reuse and reclamation have increased significantly
in Europe because of the advances in effectiveness of wastewater treatment and disinfection technologies
there is currently no legislation nor guidelines regarding reuse. It is well known that there is a
great variation of wastewater reuse quality criteria applied, mainly related to significant differences in
socioeconomic conditions, environmental policies, available water resources. In this work the parameters
that affect the wastewater reuse criteria in Greece are evaluated, concerning among others reuse
priorities, available treatment plants and effluent characteristics and recommendations are made for
developing future guidelines or regulations for Greece in relation to reuse practices (agricultural, urban,
etc). The intention is not to propose an unquestionable and rigid set of standards, but to present them
on the basis of the rationale developed, in order to form a basis for further consultation, involving all the
interested parties. The recommendations are presented in relation to the different types of reuse, with
appropriate specific standards and recommended treatment systems wherever applicable.