Variations in the Danish permit practice and the resulting differences in urban discharge of stormwater to the recipients

In Denmark, climate changes and increasing urbanisation have pushed for new stormwater management strategies. To accommodate this need, Danish government required all municipalities to make climate change adaptation plans before the end of 2013, and 350 M euro was reserved to be invested in climate adaptation measures.

For some municipalities, this has been supplemented with a cloudburst management plan, qua recommendations made by the Danish Wastewater Committee in 2017. These plans all largely rely on separating rainwater from sewers and handling it in surface-near and nature-based solutions before discharging to the natural water system - an approach which blurs the line between technical structures and the natural water environment, and causes an increase in the load onto the recipients.

Concurrently environmental targets have been set for the recipients, rooted in e.g. the EU Water Framework Directive.