11 May

The EU Water Alliance is proud to release today its new Manifesto which aims to highlight the pressing water challenges Europe faces and to set out the key actions required to overcome them. Water issues are set to become the most pressing challenge for Europe in the coming years, as underlined by the recent 2020 UN Report. Europe must get ready to prevent water-related disasters by making our society resilient.

During this legislature, some key water-related legislation may be revised. What should our targets be to prevent water crises? What decisions should be made to have a sustainable water-driven growth and what is the way towards a Water-Smart Society & Circular Economy?

EUWA Manifesto: Our key messages 

💡Achieving a Water Smart Society is key to solving and preventing water crises.
💡Green growth is the opportunity to reboot Europe after the COVID19 crisis, and it cannot be a success without water.
💡We need to uphold and fully implement the high environmental standards.
💡Supporting Nature-based solutions is an imperative.
💡Boosting digitalisation is at the core of better resource management and a water-driven sustainable growth.
💡Water-oriented Living Labs are vital to support local authorities and engage dialogue with citizens.

Read more and download the Manifesto here.

Some useful articles in this month’s EurEau newsletter

Circular Economy Action Plan: mixed news for the water sector

The European Commission plan announces the development of an Integrated Nutrient Management Plan. If well designed, this could help the water sector exploit its nutrient recovery potential. As regards microplastics, the plan fails to focus on control-at-source measures, thus increasing the risk of end-of-pipe cleaning steps. Importantly, the Commission announces it will consider the revision of the UWWTD and the Sewage Sludge Directive.

The Committee of the Regions is drafting an opinion and its ENVE Committee is accepting written contributions from stakeholders until 29 May.

The plan can be found here.

Evaluation: Impact of the CAP on Water

DG AGRI published the Alliance Environment report “Evaluation of the Impact of the CAP on Water”. The report calls for stronger measures to protect the quality and quantity of water resources. A Commission Staff Working Document is planned to be published at the end of this year incorporating the evaluation of the impact of the CAP on water, evaluation of the impact of the CAP on soil and the evaluation of the impact of the CAP on habitats, landscapes and biodiversity.

From Aquatech

Urban Water Reuse Regulations Plod Ahead in EU

Facilitating water reuse for resilience

Much needed regulation to promote the use of reclaimed urban water for agricultural irrigation across Europe have plodded ahead following movement at the European Council (EC).

The new regulation is designed to help remove obstacles to enable widespread reuse of urban water as an “alternative water supply”, as well as lessen the vulnerability of current supply systems.

The EC has now adopted, by written procedure, a regulation required to facilitate the use of treated urban wastewater (reclaimed water) for farming uses.

Read more here.