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Sampling and analysis of wastewater

3 min read - 27 August 2026

At the forefront of analytical innovation, Phytocontrol continually develops new fast and reliable methods to provide you with the best expertise in wastewater analysis, ensuring health and environmental safety requirements are met.

The Waters department is a team of experts dedicated to water quality and monitoring. Built around three pillars — technical expertise, reliability and proximity — the laboratory analyses the following water types: influent/effluent, aeration tank, receiving environment, reclaimed wastewater reuse (REUTE) and sludge.

Phytocontrol supports industrial companies, local authorities, water agencies, engineering firms and operators in their quality monitoring and wastewater recovery initiatives.

What is wastewater?

Wastewater, also known as sewage, is water that has been used in various human processes and contains impurities, contaminants and waste. It generally comes from domestic, industrial and agricultural activities, as well as stormwater collection systems. Wastewater can contain substances such as organic matter, chemicals, nutrients, heavy metals, pathogens and other contaminants.

It is important to treat wastewater before releasing it into the environment to minimise its impact on aquatic ecosystems and protect public health.

Phytocontrol supports you with wastewater

Phytocontrol Waters, a water analysis laboratory, offers a full range of analytical methods to meet European regulations on the health and environmental safety of water.

We can carry out sampling and collection using a team of qualified sampling technicians and safely transport your samples to our laboratories. We offer the following analyses:

Physico-chemistry: suspended solids, BOD5, COD, nitrates, nitrites, nitrogen, phosphorus, phenol indices, free and total cyanides…
Heavy metals: lead, cadmium, arsenic, mercury, nickel, copper, zinc, chromium…
Organic contaminants: VOCs, TPH, volatile hydrocarbon index, PFAS…
Microbiology & virology: E. coli, enterococci, cyanobacteria, somatic coliphages, daphnia, epidemiological pack…

The epidemiological pack for wastewater is divided into two parts:

The virus epidemiological pack, which includes the following viruses: SARS-CoV-2, hepatitis A (HAV), norovirus GI and GII, avian (Influenza A) and seasonal (Influenza B) flu, and PMMoV.
The bacteria epidemiological pack, which includes the following bacteria and parasites: Naegleria fowleri, Legionella pneumophila, Shiga toxins 1 and 2, Shigella sonnei, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp, thermotolerant Campylobacter.

From a public health perspective, since each treatment plant serves several tens to several hundred thousand households, wastewater monitoring makes it possible to track the spread of pathogens across the whole territory.