noPILLS at Bellecombe wwtp, France

Presentation and first results of INTERREG IV A project IRMISE
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Separate treatment of hospital waste water: a unique pilot project in Europe to investigate pharmaceutical residues
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The Bellecombe waste water treatment plant

In the south of Lake Geneva, the Bellecombe waste water treatment plant (wwtp) is located in Scientrier, near the city of Reignier-Esery. Next to the river Arve this treatment plant runs a special treatment of waste water focusing on micropollutants coming from a hospital. The hospital Centre Hospitalier Alpes Léman (CHAL) is connected to the Bellecombe wwtp on the other river side. The Arve flows about 20 km downstream in Geneve into the river Rhône and is used via bank filtration for drinking water production in Switzerland. This sensitive situation - and the desire of the Syndicat des Eaux, according to the hospital, to adopt an environmental approach beyond legislation - was the reason for initiating the wastewater projects based on regional decisions.

Project partners in the local cooperation SIPIBEL (Site Pilote de Bellecombe) and the coordinator of actions are first the GRAIE (Rhone-Alps Research Group on Infrastructure and Water, a non-profit association) who runs the project management of the facility practically. In France a “syndicate” is a cooperation structure between municipalities (Decree of 1935) to enable local governments to join with each other or with public institutions. The SIPIBEL syndicate groups 13 municipalities, representing 20.000 inhabitants, 230 km of network with 30 pumping stations and a wwtp for 32.000 people equivalents. For support and research there are various cooperating partners:

• Syndicat Intercommunal de Bellecombe
• CHAL
• SM3A
• INSA
• ISA
• ENTPE
• GRESE – Université de Limoges
• Université Paris Sud
• Ministère de la Santé
• Ministère de l’Environnement
• Suez-Degrémont
• Agence de l’eau
• Conseil Géneral Haute Savoie
• Region Rhone-Alpes
• DDT 74
• ONEMA
• ARS
• GRAIE
• CIPEL

For the research and modelling the following partner institutions are especially involved: INSA, Université Paris-Sud, SCA CNRS, Suez-Degrémont, ENTPE, Université de Limoges. Example of studies are the following:

• Establishment of a model to predict flow of a micro urban watershed and hospital
• Development of methods of analysis of drugs and metabolites of these drugs in the water, sludge and organisms
• Study of the behaviour of micropollutants (metals and pharmaceuticals) during different stages of sludge treatment

The project is also connected to the GRAIE INTERREG IV A project IRMISE Arve Aval. This project considers the impact of discharges of micropollutants (and drug residues) from wwtps. It includes measures, modelling and strategic study on the pressures, perceptions and management scenarios

More about SIPIBEL

More about CHAL