The European Commission has proposed new revisions to legislation on the quality for drinking water, to improve access for all citizens.
The proposal aims to guarantee the right of all citizens to access good quality drinking water, and was prepared in response to the first ever successful European Citizens’ Initiative, ‘Right2Water’. The initiative gathered 1.6m signatures in support of improving access to safe drinking water for all Europeans.
The new legislative revisions will require member states to improve access for all people, but especially marginalised and vulnerable groups, and proposes a number of strategies, including:
- Setting up new equipment for drinking water in public spaces;
- Launching campaigns to inform citizens about water quality;
- Encouraging administrations and public buildings to provide access to water; and
- Giving the public easy online access to information about water quality in their area.
According to the commission’s estimates, the new measures could reduce the potential health risks associated with drinking water from 4% to below 1%. The legislation is also intended to discourage citizens from consuming bottled water, which creates significant plastic waste. This could act as an addendum to the commission’s recent plastic waste strategy.
The right to access good quality drinking water is a principle of the European Pillar of Social Rights, which was unanimously endorsed at last year’s Gothenburg Summit, which was a factor in the development of the new regulations.
What improvements will the legislation introduce?
The revisions will also facilitate better management of water, which will minimise waste and lower the EU’s carbon footprint. The commission will also aim to introduce better standardisation criteria to ensure that water products such as pipes and tanks that are made in Europe do not pollute drinking water.
Commission Vice-President Jyrki Katainen, responsible for growth, jobs, investment and competitiveness, said that the improvements to drinking water would have much broader implications for European society: “With this proposal we facilitate the transition to a circular economy, helping member states manage drinking water in a resource-efficient manner. It implies reduction of energy use and unnecessary water loss. Thanks to increased transparency it will also empower consumers and push them towards more sustainable choices, for example using tap water.”
