3.1 Wastewater
Denmark has a very peculiar geography, consisting of many small islands and the large peninsula of Jutland. Denmark has many miles of coastline and no point in Denmark is more than 65 km from the coast. Denmark’s watercourses and rivers are therefore small and short, making them highly sensitive to pollution.

In order to protect the surroundings both in relation to health and environment a system of rules and legislation has been established, based on the Danish Environmental Protection Act, which was first adopted in 1973.

Danish wastewater policy is founded on the following basis:

	Discharges of environmentally hazardous substances must be minimised
	Discharges of other substances can be permitted if the aquatic environment is not harmed
	To protect the aquatic environment, discharges of organic matter, nitrogen and phosphorus from large-scale wastewater treatment plants must be cut to specific limit values

Wastewater is cleaned in wastewater treatment plants and either discharged to waterways, lakes or the sea, or allowed to seep into the soil. The substances found in wastewater are partly substances already found in the environment and partly contaminants. In Denmark much is being done to limit such contaminants, in particular, for example by replacing them with more environmentally

friendly substances or by eliminating them at the source. At wastewater

treatment plants the undesirable substances are either degraded or separated off, so that the water discharged causes no harm.

Originally, the principle was that the wastewater had to be cleaned in wastewater treatment plants unless it could be sent straight out into "robust recipients", such as the sea, which was thought to be able to decompose the pollutants without doing any harm. Later on it was discovered that this was not sufficient.

In 1987 the Folketing adopted the Action Plan for the Aquatic Environment I, setting out reduction requirements for effluent and establishing a national monitoring programme.

The Action Plan for the Aquatic Environment has meant that all large Danish wastewater treatment plants between 1987-96 were extended to remove organic substances, phosphorus and nitrogen. This extension has cost more than EUR 1.21bn. The Action Plan for the Aquatic Environment was the first of its kind in Europe and has been significant in the preparation of the EU wastewater directive of 1991.

More than 90% of all wastewater from households and 80% of industrial wastewater are discharged into the municipal sewerage systems. More than 86% of the wastewater is cleaned for phosphorus and nitrogen, which is the highest figure in any country.

Large industries often have their own wastewater treatment plants, cleaning the discharges in the same way as municipal discharges.

3.2 Drinking water
As far as drinking water is concerned, Denmark is privileged in that virtually all its drinking water can be drawn from the subsoil. The groundwater pumped up from the subsoil requires only light treatment (aeration and filtration) before it is fit for use as drinking water. In Denmark we live on top of our drinking water.

Danish groundwater policy is based on prevention and effort at the source. As a result, Danish groundwater resources need to be safeguarded against additional contamination, and preventive efforts must be assigned higher priority than subsequent cleaning. As a point of departure, it is aimed to provide a generally high level of protection for all groundwater.

Many steps have already been taken to protect the groundwater. Recent years have seen bans issued on some 170 crop sprays because they are particularly hazardous to the groundwater, and limits have been set for the amount of livestock manure that may be used on fields. New spraying agents are subject to much more rigorous approval than previously, and the county authorities have designated areas of special drinking water interest, taking account of the volumes and quality of the groundwater and the need to safeguard it.

For some time the authorities have also been removing old deposits with chemicals, a work which now receives special attention in areas with special drinking water interests.

In 1998 the Folketing adopted the Action Plan for the Aquatic Environment II, further intensifying the effort to protect groundwater. The plan implies that the counties now must identify target areas, primarily in areas of special drinking water interests and for these areas, initiaties are to be developed, describing in detail protective measures to be taken.

The instruments used in implementing the action plans are primarily voluntary agreements with farmers about a change in land use. However, it is also

possible for counties or municipalities to impose availability constraints. The waterworks – and hence the consumers they serve – will normally be ordered to pay financial compensation.

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3 Danish environmental policy in the water sector