Report from the Commission. Synthesis report on the quality of drinking water in the EU examining the Member States’ reports for the period 2008-2010 under Directive 98/83/EC

Safe drinking water is essential to our lives. It is vital for public health and an important driver of a healthy economy. The WHO concludes that by ‘improving access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation, in addition to the health benefits through prevention of waterborne diseases, significant economic benefits may be gained’. These include healthcare savings, productive days gained per year, increased school attendance and value of life lost averted. The water industry sector also makes a significant contribution to GDP. The total estimated gross value added (GVA) of the industry covering sanitation and water supply services reached €43.84 billion in 2010 and represented that year about 500,000 full-time equivalent jobs.

The Drinking Water Directive, introduced in 1980 and revised in 1998, has led to the availability of high-quality drinking water across the EU. Joint efforts from EU institutions, Member States and service providers have resulted in high compliance rates with the drinking water standards and the Directive is therefore one of the success stories, albeit not a very well known one, of EU legislation in the field of environment and public health.

The quality of drinking water and the required level of treatment is very much related to the quality of drinking water sources. The level of protection of water resources, in particular groundwater and surface water, is thus crucial for the Drinking Water Directive as it impacts on the treatment costs.

Drinking water is also an important issue for EU citizens. This is reflected in a EUROBAROMETER survey and in the recently launched European Citizens’ Initiative Right2Water. In its reply to the initiative, the Commission announced an EU-wide public consultation on the Drinking Water Directive, notably with a view to improving access to quality water in the EU.

EUR-Lex: COM(2014)363: Follow the progress of this report through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2014:363:FIN

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