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Safe and secure water supplies are of critical importance for all people everywhere, to protect public health, mainstream resilience, and guarantee safety and the well-being of people and societies.

The promised European Water Resilience Strategy should set a clear direction for coordinated and coherent action by Member States, taking into account national and regional circumstances. In this regard, EurEau has identified three essential drivers that we believe should be included in the Water Resilience Strategy to ensure its effectiveness:

• Improved water governance and monitoring for integrated and sustainable water resource management across all sectors.
• Improved supply management to ensure sufficient resources.
• Better demand management and promotion of water saving solutions where appropriate.

2023 was a year of both achievement and challenge in our ongoing mission to protect Europe’s water resources. We made significant strides with key legislative advancements such as the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (UWWTD), the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED), Environmental Quality Standards and the Groundwater Directives (EQSD and GWD), sending a strong message that polluters must be held accountable. However, we faced setbacks along the way. Despite these hurdles, we remained steadfast, knowing that our work is crucial for the sustainable future of our water services.

As we look to 2024, we are committed to continuing our efforts with renewed focus and collaboration, ensuring that water remains at the heart of Europe’s resilience and prosperity.

Read more about our work in our 2023 Annual Report.

Naši poskytovatelé vodohospodářských služeb dodávají ve dne i v noci. Pokaždé, když potřebujete nezávadnou a čistou vodu z kohoutku k pití, hygieně a sanitaci, stačí otevřít kohoutek.
Ti samí poskytovatelé služeb odvádějí použitou vodu mimo naše domovy a podniky, aby ji ošetřili, než se vrátí do životního prostředí, recyklují cenné živiny po cestě a pomáhají nám udržovat zdraví.
Tato privilegia jsou až příliš často považována za samozřejmost. Pochopení hodnoty našich vodohospodářských služeb znamená investování do naší budoucnosti a budoucnosti dalších generací. Voda nám dává život. Povědomí o hodnotě vodohospodářských služeb zajistí, že budou účinné, efektivní, odolné, udržitelné a dostupné pro všechny.

Chráníme naše vodní zdroje

Naši poskytovatelé vodohospodářských služeb dodávají ve dne i v noci. Pokaždé, když potřebujete nezávadnou a čistou vodu z kohoutku k pití, hygieně a sanitaci, stačí otevřít kohoutek.

Ti samí poskytovatelé služeb odvádějí použitou vodu mimo naše domovy a podniky, aby ji ošetřili, než se vrátí do životního prostředí, recyklují cenné živiny po cestě a pomáhají nám udržovat zdraví.

Tato privilegia jsou až příliš často považována za samozřejmost. Pochopení hodnoty našich vodohospodářských služeb znamená investování do naší budoucnosti a budoucnosti dalších generací. Voda nám dává život. Povědomí o hodnotě vodohospodářských služeb zajistí, že budou účinné, efektivní, odolné, udržitelné a dostupné pro všechny.

This consultation relates to textile and related products, meaning leather products, apparel and clothing accessories (even if made of other materials, such as leather or fur) as well as textile, leather and/or fur interior/household products, except for footwear products (which are governed by Directive 94/11/EC and
the review of which is not currently planned).

EurEau welcomes and strongly supports the European Commission’s Proposal for a Regulation on preventing plastic pellet losses to reduce microplastic pollution, which will allow for a regulatory framework implementing control at source for a relevant part of microplastics unintentionally released to the environment, and it will contribute not only to protecting water resources but also to meeting the objectives of the European Green Deal, the Zero Pollution Action Plan, as well as the New Action Plan on The Circular Economy.

EurEau welcomes and strongly supports the European Commission’s Proposal to amend the Mercury Regulation, banning the use, manufacture and export on dental amalgam from 2025, which will not only contribute to a long-term reduction of mercury in water bodies but also to the circular economy by allowing for a decrease of mercury in treated urban wastewater for reuse in agricultural irrigation and in sludge from wastewater treatment.

Our water services of tomorrow – Let’s make change happen

The water services sector has the ambition to play a front-running role in Europe’s journey to building climate-neutral, circular, smart and resilient society. To achieve this, water services will work with local and EU level policy makers to maximise the latest innovative technologies and practices, by digitalising their operations, exploiting their full energy efficiency and renewable energy generation potentials, and recovering nutrients and materials from waste water streams and drinking water treatment.

These are the five success factors we must achieve to set the sector on the path to change. They are accompanied by short check-lists for regulators and policy makers.

1. Enabling regulatory framework

2. Ensuring long-term funding and resources

3. Attracting a competent workforce and obtaining societal recognition

4. Developing innovative solutions and increasing motivation to change

5. Avoiding pollution at the source.

Our society, economy, environment and health depend on each of us having access to reliable, clean and affordable water every day. Your European water services strive every day to do this.

Much EU legislation to better protect people and the planet has been passed or is being processed since the last European Parliament elections – the Drinking Water Directive, the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive, and legislation covering agriculture, chemicals and pharmaceuticals. One other cornerstone of water legislation – the Water Framework Directive – will need to define its post 2027 ambitions, and policy makers must decide whether to extend its reach to protect water resources. We support such a move.

We need a robust 360° strategy at European level to ensure that water services are protected across all areas. In our vision for our water’s future, we call on EU to prioritise:

1. Giving water its right place

2. Protecting the quality of our water resources

3. Addressing climate change

4. Enhancing the Circular Economy

5. Financing change while keeping water services affordable

6. Improving security and resilience and guaranteeing the protection of sensitive information.

Read more in our Water Resilience Strategy for Europe; Our vision for our water’s future.

Our world is changing rapidly and so are water services. Innovation is key to guaranteeing the affordability of safe, sustainable and resilient water services for the decades to come. Water service providers are well aware of the challenges and have identified a number of technological and non-technological areas requiring particular innovation efforts with a view to meeting the goals of the European Green Deal. New challenges have also placed a particular focus on the need for innovation across the sector’s supply chain to boost resilience as well as sustainability.

The research needs are compiled in this document and should help policy makers in designing research and innovation programmes in a way that responds to the real needs of drinking water and wastewater operators.