Our Publications

EurEau supports major parts of the proposed Regulation, but calls for more clarity regarding ‘off-site transfer’ management. Easy access to data is paramount to facilitate the risk management of waste water operators.

Waste water treatment plants (WWTP) larger than 100,000 PE are covered by the Regulation as it was for the E-PRTR and the list of pollutants did not change. Some provisions are added regarding diffuse pollution, which is positive, but more details are needed in order for the Regulation to be correctly applied.

We welcome the legislative proposal of the Regulation on the Sustainable Use of Plant Protection Products (SUR), enshrining the European Commission’s Zero Pollution ambition in pesticides policy to protect human health and the environment. 

This legislative proposal heralds good news for water operators: water suppliers need water resources that are protected from pollution so that tap water remains safe and affordable, and the right to water is not jeopardised.

While the legislative proposal represents a major step in the right direction, we urge the European Parliament and the Council of the EU to embrace the change and support a European food system that protects water resources.

We regret, however, that Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 on placing pesticides on the EU market will not be revised, since this legislation is key to restricting harmful pesticides. It must be ensured that only those substances that have no detrimental effects on human health, the environment, and more specifically, drinking water production, are allowed for use. This is not the case today. Furthermore, more attention should be paid to the possible combination effects of substances and regrettable substitutions of substances.

The proposed text meets most of the water service providers’ expectations by correcting some drawbacks of the current directive regarding the protection of water bodies. EurEau supports the general philosophy, aligned with the zero-pollution ambition, to control industrial pollution at the source. Overall, we find the Commission’s proposal goes in a very positive direction and we look forward to working with the EU institutions to make the IED an effective and robust force in protecting the environment, human health, water resources and water services’ workers.

Our water service providers deliver day and night. Every time you need safe and clean tap water for drinking, hygiene and sanitation, all you have to do is open a tap.

These same service providers conduct used water away from our homes and businesses to treat it before it is returned to the environment, recycling the valuable nutrients along the way and helping to keep us healthy.

All too often these privileges are taken for granted. Understanding the value of our water services is investing in our future and the future of the next generations. Water gives us life. Awareness of the value of water services will ensure that they are effective, efficient, resilient, sustainable and affordable for all.

This briefing note describes the various pathways PFAS can take to accumulate in air, soil and plants. It identifies the main contributors of PFAS in waste water and how PFAS can end up in sewage sludge. We demonstrate how only a full PFAS ban can allow for the inclusion of sewage sludge in the circular economy through agricultural application and incineration while encompassing the nutrient recycling potential.

The current geopolitical situation and the objective to transition to a climate-neutral society by 2050, make it urgent to reuse the renewable and continuous supply of resources and energy which pass through our waste water systems. Waste water contains many valuable resources, most notably nutrients for fertilisers (nitrogen and phosphorus), water and energy. These valuable resources can be recovered and reused, making a significant contribution to the circular economy. 

It was another busy year for EurEau, with drinking water, PFAS, plastics, waste water, taxonomy and innovation high on our agenda. Read about our work in our annual report. 

Removing PFAS from the urban water cycle causes a wide range of problems for water service providers. While technologies exist to remove most PFAS, they are unsustainable, mainly due to their technical complexity, resource intensity (water, energy, treatment chemicals etc.) and the generation of PFAS-containing residues. Reliance on end-of-pipe solutions creates a substantial stumbling block on the water sector’s journey towards climate neutrality. Any emissions of chemicals belonging to this group into the environment need to be avoided, using the Precautionary Principle and the Control-at-Source Principle. This can be best achieved by an EU-level ban of all PFAS uses.

Although the Renewable Energy Directive (RED III) does not specifically address the water sector, the water cycle has renewable energy generation potential, i.e.: the generation of electricity from hydraulic turbines, biogas from sewage sludge, electricity and thermal energy from sewage sludge mono-incineration, electricity from on-site windmills and solar panels, heat pumps and thermal energy from waste water at several stages of the water cycle. Hence, the water sector substantially contributes to the renewable energy targets and climate policies.