Development over the last 200 years has taken Swedish society from dugout latrines, to underground sewers flowing into lakes or coastal waters, to advanced wastewater treatment plants. Wastewater issues have changed from resolving local sanitary problems to a global environmental issue.

This paper 'Wastewater Treatment in Sweden' is published by the Swedish Environmental Agency (Swedish EPA) to provide an historical overview of development of urban wastewater treatment from 1900s to the present. The paper is published biannually and includes the most recent statistical data from 2014 for releases and sludge from wastewater treatment plants.

This information is published in accordance with Article 16 of the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC). The Directive applies to all wastewater collected in sewage systems, but quantitative requirements apply only to treatment plants serving more than 2,000 persons. For Sweden, this corresponds to over 400 plants. The original EU member states (EU15) were obligated to meet all requirements within the Directive framework by 2005. The 12 new EU members have varying transitional rules.