EC urges Belgium to correctly transpose drinking water directive

The European Commission has decided to initiate infringement proceedings by issuing a letter of formal notice to Belgium after it transposed the Drinking Water Directive (Directive (EU) 2020/2184), which aims to improve water resilience across the EU and achieve a zero emissions target.

Implementation of the drinking water directive in Belgium

The deadline for implementing EU regulations into national law was January 12, 2023. Belgium has not done this task properly. Checks on the compliance of national laws have revealed cases of incorrect transposition in three regions of the country and at the federal level. These include. the content of risk assessments carried out by national authorities and concerning the risks of internal water supply systems, the monitoring of drinking water quality, and the information that must be mandatorily provided to the public. The European Commission has issued a letter of formal notice to Belgium. In the absence of a satisfactory response, the EC may decide to issue a reasoned opinion.

Drinking water directive

The goal of the recast Drinking Water Directive is to protect human health by updating quality standards, addressing contaminants identified as potentially hazardous (endocrine disruptors and microplastics), and introducing regulations to make tap water cleaner. One of the key tasks of the Drinking Water Directive is also the protection of intakes, as we wrote about earlier: Protection of water intakes in light of DWD 2020/2184. The new directive also introduces regulations to reduce water leakage, as drinking water losses during distribution currently average 30 percent in the EU.

Key assumptions and objectives of Directive (EU) 2020/2184:

• Improving the health safety of water by adapting the list and values of tested parameters to current technical and scientific advances;
• Ensure universal access to water for the population and apply the necessary measures to improve it, especially for vulnerable and marginalized groups;
• Informing the public about the quality of water for human consumption, the price of water and consumption through electronic communication or information on the invoice;
• Managing water in accordance with the principles of sustainable development, adding new parameters of drinking water quality (endocrine disruptors, medicinal products and microplastics on the watch list, i.e. bisphenol-A, chlorates, chlorites, halogenoacetic acid, the sum of PFAS – fluorinated organic compounds) and adjusting them to the current state of knowledge and scientific and technological progress;
• Expanding the scope of requirements for drinking water quality parameters by adapting the list and values of tested parameters to the current state of knowledge and scientific and technical progress, and modifying the conduct of water quality monitoring and control of compliance with quality requirements;
• An innovative approach to drinking water safety, based on risk assessment and management in the water supply chain (from the supply area, through intake, treatment, storage, distribution, to the consumer’s tap): in the supply areas of water intakes for human consumption; in the supply system;
• Unification of the certification system for materials and products in contact with water intended for human consumption and requirements for water treatment chemicals and filtration materials;
• Determine the impact on human health of materials in contact with drinking water;
• Promoting drinking tap water, increasing citizens’ confidence in the water and possibly reducing consumption of bottled water;
• Assessing and reducing water losses in water supply networks (including by requiring leakage reduction);
• Protecting the environment by reducing the use of plastic.

Deadlines under Directive (EU) 2020/2184

The most important deadlines under Directive (EU) 2020/2184 are:

• January 12, 2021 entry into force of the directive;
• January 12, 2023 deadline for implementation of the directive in the national legal system (refers to the enactment of laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to implement Articles 1-18, Article 23 and Annexes I-V);
• By January 12, 2026 to conduct an assessment of the volume of leakage in the national territory;
• By July 12, 2027 to conduct risk assessments and risk management for the first time in recharge areas for water intake for human consumption;
• By January 12, 2028, the EC will determine the leakage threshold, exceeding of which will oblige the development of a national action plan to reduce leakage;
• By Jan. 12, 2029: conduct risk assessment and risk management in the supply system for the first time; conduct risk assessment in internal water supply systems for the first time;
• By January 12, 2030, submission to the European Commission of a national action plan establishing a package of measures to be applied to reduce the volume of leakage (applies when the volume of leakage exceeds the threshold specified in the delegated act).

pic. main: Andres Siimon/Unsplash

In the article, I used:

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/PL/ALL/?uri=CELEX:32020L2184