Grey water footprint as a tool for implementing the Water Framework Directive – Temelín nuclear power station

This paper discusses the use of grey water footprint as a tool to implement the combined approach under the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC). Grey water footprint is focused on the issue of the quality of water and the pollution discharged. Using grey water footprint, the discharge of polluting substances from Temelín nuclear power station and the assessment of sustainability in accordance with water footprint methodology were evaluated. Grey water footprint values were calculated for each pollutant per annum. For tritium, a substance that was evaluated as a pollutant with the highest grey water footprint, determination of grey water footprint was carried out per month together with sensitivity analysis for various values of environmental standards according to the applicable legislation and norms. In the context of environmental sustainability, an assessment was carried out to see whether the discharge of polluting substances from Temelín nuclear power station is in accordance with the combined approach. The research concludes that grey water footprint is an effective tool to achieve targets according to the Water Framework Directive. The study also shows the importance of grey water footprint calculation on a monthly step basis. It can be concluded that the dynamic calculation of limits for pollution discharge based on a combined approach can lead to less restriction on human development without any impact on achieving Water Framework Directive targets. •Grey water footprint is usable tool for combined approach according to the Water Framework Directive.•Grey water footprint of Temelín NPS from tritium is several times larger than grey water footprint from other pollutants.•Variability of grey water footprint results is high.•Although annual water pollution level is sufficient, the water pollution level in monthly step sometimes can overreach 100%.