Water reuse can contribute to Europe’s water resilience and help protect drinking water resources. Wastewater treatment operators are ready to play a strategic role, but reuse should reflect local water availability, infrastructure and economic demand.
In a new position paper, EurEau calls for the existing Water Reuse Regulation to be strengthened through better implementation and greater flexibility, rather than extending its scope. Tackling pollutants at source, including PFAS, is also essential to enabling safe reuse.
Reuse projects must also make economic sense. Operators need to recover the costs of producing water for reuse, through an appropriate price paid by beneficiaries or suitable economic incentives. Reuse should be enabled where it works, not imposed where it does not.
Read our policy recommendations on water reuse.