Treatment of Waters: The Financial Challenge of New Pollutants

Wastewater and drinking water treatment plants are about to undergo a revolution. Standards are being prepared to regulate the presence of microplastics and perfluorinated substances – the famous eternal pollutants. And all this will require considerable public investment.

In Saint-Louis, Haut-Rhin, a prefectural decree has prohibited the consumption of tap water for so-called "sensitive" people since Monday until the end of December. This decision concerns about 3,000 inhabitants considered fragile and aims to protect them from the harmful effects of PFAS. The reasons behind this ban PFAS, sometimes called "eternal pollutants", are found in the drinking water of eleven communes around Saint-Louis. Rates often exc…