A fondo: Análisis 2017 | In depth: Analysis of 2017 FuturEnviro | Febrero February 2019 www.futurenviro.es 20 Después de haber depurado las aguas residuales de la mayoría de los grandes núcleos de población,mayores vertidos, sabemos que el trabajo no se ha acabado y tenemos que proseguir con la depuración de los pequeños núcleos urbanos. No hay duda que los pequeños núcleos suelen ir asociados a pequeños impactos medioambientales y es seguro que en muchos casos la naturaleza con su capacidad de autodepuración puede solucionar el problema. Y en aquellos casos que por la sensibilidad del medio receptor u otras causas la incidencia del vertido sobrepase un cierto límite existen mecanismos para implantar la solución requerida. La normativa vigente exige que las aguas residuales de todos los núcleos de población sean tratados adecuadamente y estoy seguro que la solución inmediata e indiscriminada de todos los vertidos no es abordable por razones económicas e implicaría un esfuerzo que seguramente no estaría justificado en términos de eficiencia en el buen uso de los recursos públicos, que deben competir con otras necesidades tanto o más urgentes, como son los servicios sociales, la sanidad, las comunicaciones y otros. Siendo imposible la depuración inmediata de todos los vertidos nos debemos preguntar cómo hay que actuar y que orden se debe seguir. Es un hecho que el responsable de un vertido urbano en condiciones inadecuadas se encuentra en una situación de ilegalidad, puede ser sancionado administrativamente y penalmente, encontrándose en una situación incómoda, inestable y muy desagradable. Estoy seguro que todos los responsables de las administraciones hidráulicas de nuestro país son conscientes de esta situación y sin embargo parece que no hay forma de aportar la suficiente seguridad jurídica y administrativa. He conocido ayuntamientos sancionados por vertidos inadecuados, alcaldes acusados de delitos contra el medio ambiente por no Having treated the wastewater of the majority of large population centres, which account for the largest discharges, we are aware that our work has not finished and that we must now proceed to the treatment of wastewater from small urban centres. Small population centres are undoubtedly associated with small environmental impacts and it is true that nature’s self-purification capacity can often solve the problem. And in those cases where, due to the sensitivity of the receiving medium or other reasons, the discharge exceeds certain limits, mechanisms exist for the implementation of the required solutions. Current legislation demands that wastewater from all population centres be adequately treated. I am certain that immediate and indiscriminate solutions for all discharges cannot be provided for economic reasons. Such solutions would involve an effort that would surely not be justifiable in terms of efficiency in the use of public resources, for which there is competition arising from other equally urgent or even more pressing needs, such as social services, health, communications and others. Given that the immediate treatment of all discharges is impossible, we must ask ourselves how to act and the order in which to proceed. It is a fact that those responsible for urban discharge in inappropriate conditions enter into a position of illegality, exposing themselves to administrative and legal sanctions, whilst also finding themselves in an uncomfortable, unstable and very unpleasant situation. I am sure that all those responsible for water administration in Spain are aware of this situation. Despite this, there seems to be no way to provide sufficient legal and administrative certainty. I know of municipal councils that have been sanctioned for inappropriate discharges, mayors accused of crimes against the environment for failing to resolve the issue of water discharges that potentially degrade the environment and I have asked myself if there is nobody capable of acknowledging the situation and providing the legal certainty required while the “appropriate treatments” set out in legislation are not implemented. Wastewater treatment is amongst the competences assigned to municipal councils, who must, therefore, assume this responsibility. Given this fact, if we accept that all the issues cannot be resolved immediately, somebody should establish the priorities for action clearly and comprehensively. I believe that this must be the first point of action but I have little hope that anybody will do so or even attempt to do so. The logic of wastewater sanitation leads me to believe that the priorities should be established in accordance with impacts generated, which is a direct consequence of the magnitude of SANEAMIENTO Y DEPURACIÓN EN PEQUEÑOS MUNICIPIOS. LA ASIGNATURA PENDIENTE DEL TRATAMIENTO DE LAS AGUAS RESIDUALES URBANAS Manuel Suarez, presidente de ADECAGUA, Asociación Española para la Defensa de la Calidad de las Aguas SANITATION AND WASTEWATER TREATMENT IN SMALL MUNICIPALITIES. A PENDING URBANWASTEWATER TREATMENT ISSUE Manuel Suarez, president of the ADECAGUA, SpanishWater Pollution Control Association
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