The AfterLIFE of Water

2026 04. - 06. november

The AfterLIFE of Water

  • Seminar
  • Reoveekäitlus
  • Free of charge · In English · Hybrid (in person and online)
  • Tamme saal, Suur-Ameerika 1, Tallinn

International seminar on wastewater, sludge and water reuse

Across Europe, the rules are changing. The revised Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive, new requirements for sludge, and the Water Reuse Regulation are reshaping what utilities, municipalities and regulators must do and what they can do.

This two-day international seminar brings together researchers, water utilities, policy makers, municipalities and LIFE projects from across Europe to look at what comes after treatment: recovering nutrients, removing micropollutants, reusing water, and rethinking sludge as a resource rather than a residue.

A third, optional day takes participants out of the hall and into two working plants in Tallinn, where the questions discussed over the previous two days are being answered in practice.

The seminar is aimed at people who will have to act on the new requirements, and those whose research and technology will make that possible:

  • Water utilities and operators
  • Municipalities and local authorities
  • Policy makers and regulators
  • Researchers and academics
  • LIFE and Horizon Europe projects
  • Technology providers and industry

Topics

The new regulatory landscape

What the revised Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive actually requires and by when. Extended producer responsibility and the polluter pays principle. How Member States are transposing the rules — and where their answers differ.

Micropollutants & quaternary treatment

Pharmaceuticals, PFAS, microplastics and antimicrobial resistance. Comparing the technologies for the fourth treatment stage — activated carbon, ozonation, membranes — including what each one costs.

 

Sludge as a resource

Phosphorus recovery, nutrient cycling and the economics of sludge valorisation. What works technically, what works commercially, and why those are not always the same question.

 

Water reuse & resilience

Treated wastewater as a resource under Regulation 2020/741. Nature-based and decentralised solutions for smaller settlements. And the resilience of water infrastructure itself, under the CER Directive.

Wednesday 4 November | 09:00–17:00

The first day starts with the rules. What the revised Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive actually requires, how the polluter pays principle and extended producer responsibility will work in practice, and how different Member States are approaching the same obligations — including a panel discussion where those differences are compared directly.

The afternoon turns to technology: the fourth treatment stage and how the available options compare, micropollutants and emerging substances in the Baltic Sea region, microplastics in wastewater and sludge, sludge valorisation and phosphorus recovery, and nature-based approaches for smaller treatment plants.

 

The detailed programme will be published in September 2026.

Thursday 5 November | 09:00–17:00 · seminar & dinner 19:00

The second day moves from regulation to experience. Case studies from Estonian and European LIFE projects on water reuse, catchment-scale water management and climate adaptation, including what has worked, what has not, and what the projects would do differently.

The afternoon is given over to a facilitated scenario exercise on the resilience of water infrastructure under the CER Directive. Participants work in groups through power failure, cyber attack, physical damage and cross-border crisis, and present their conclusions in a closing discussion.

 

The detailed programme will be published in September 2026.

Friday 6 November | 09:00–13:00 

An optional field day at two working plants in Tallinn: the Ülemiste water treatment plant and the Paljassaare wastewater treatment plant. Participants are divided into two groups — one in Estonian, one in English — visiting the sites in reverse order.

Places are limited and registration is required. Please note that the visits take place outdoors and weatherproof clothing and footwear are recommended.

 

The detailed programme will be published in September 2026.

Registration

Participation is free of charge, but places in the hall and field visits are limited.

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