Leakage Management and Water Quality on EU's Agenda
The European Drinking Water Directive from 1998 has been revised. Danish lobbyists have had a major impact on the directive which to some extent now follows Danish legislation and Danish guidelines. The new directive bears the name: Right2Water. 29-05-2020
In brief, the new Drinking Water Directive is concerned with water quality and water loss. In many European countries, there are strict requirements as to what materials may come into contact with the drinking water and to the presence of foreign substances in the drinking water.
In Denmark, our legislation does not permit leakage of more than 10% and leakages exceeding this limit are subject to pecuniary penalty. Unfortunately, it was not possible to introduce an immediate maximum leakage level into the new directive but we have come part of the way as the Drinking Water Directive now prescribes that:
In five years at the latest, at least all major water suppliers that produce more than 10,000m³ of drinking water per day or supply more than 50,000 people, must have measured the leakages."
The Commission then calculates a threshold value on the basis of the water losses reported by the Member States. In Member States above the threshold, measures must be taken to reduce water losses. After eight years at the latest, the Member States must present an action plan to reduce water losses. This is intended to improve the general under-investment in the maintenance and renewal of drinking water infrastructure in many regions of Europe.
AVK Smart Water is ready with products and solutions to help the water supply survey the situation, make the reporting simple and easy-to-read while pointing to the areas where an effective effort will make a big difference in bringing down leakage and energy consumption.
Learn more about AVK Smart Water, and the concept of applying intelligence to water management.
As to the general quality of European drinking water, we have also seen an improvement: The Parliament and Council have decided that a positive list of all materials and substances that may come into contact with drinking water, will be pulled forward in the coming years:
"Substances on this list must be regularly checked for their health risks. Only substances that do not pose a risk to health may end up on the positive list. Materials that are not on the list must not be used in drinking water systems."
This innovation will reduce health risks for consumers. At the same time, harmonised European rules will reduce unnecessary bureaucracy and save costs for manufacturers and their customers.
While being the source to all life on the planet, water poses a severe health risk when the supplied quality is not fit for drinking. Unsafe water supply is a daily health risk for many people, also in developed countries. Therefore, assuring high water quality is a central focus point in AVK development and production. Learn more about how to obtain safe and healthy water quality, and how we practically implement this in our daily work.
