Luxembourg's water woes continued today, this time regarding a police report revealing a hitherto unknown substance in the Drosbach in Hesper which was been clouding the water for several weeks.
The SRPS of the Grand Ducal Police, the Hesperange police department and firefighters were sent out to investigate the site, with water samples taken and analysed by the Water Management Office.
Initial investigations by the SRPS suggested that the cause was due to temporary dewatering equipment at a construction site in the nearby area. The intercepted wastewater was pumped into street drains in the municipality of Luxembourg before arriving in the Drosbach. An analysis determined that the substance was neither toxic nor chemicals.
The news followed the announcement from the Luxembourg Government that it has been sentenced to financial penalties for the non-execution of two Court of Justice judgements regarding the treatment of urban wastewater.
The Court sanctioned the fact that certain treatment plants did not meet the requirements of the Directive on the treatment of urban wastewater, specifically regarding city wastewater plants managed by ad hoc unions dedicated to the evacuation and decontamination of the wastewater in their municipalities. To this end, it was found that the implementation of a number of specific development projects (PAP) had not been authorised by the Water Management Administration as the localities concerned did not have adequate sewage treatment available for the water used.
To resolve the situation, the Environment, Housing and Interior Departments and the Water Management Administration stated that they have defined additional and temporary measures to see wastewater collected onsite and evacuated by unions to the nearest treatment plant.
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