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ISBN 978-92-79-30543-6
doi:10.2779/12145
Printed in Italy
Printed on recycled paper that has been awarded the EU eco-label for graphic paper (http://ec.europa.eu/environment/ecolabel)
A Water Blueprint for Europe
1999
Table of contents
Foreword 5
Why does Europe need to take action? 7
The EU Water Framework Directive: a timetable for progress 7
Water quality or water quantity? 8
River Basin Management Plan assessment 8
What is the Blueprint? 11
‘Something better’: the Blueprint proposals for improving
implementation of the law 13
Water accounts and ecological flow 13
Target setting 13
Water pricing 13
Water trading 14
Plugging the leaks 14
Drought observatory 14
Satellite technology 15
‘Something more’: water should flow through all areas
of EU policy-making 17
Agriculture 17
Green infrastructure and natural water-retention measures 17
Cohesion and Structural Funds 17
‘Something new’: plugging the gaps 19
Water efficiency in buildings and the Ecodesign Directive 19
Water reuse: EU quality standards 19
Cross-cutting measures: more knowledge … 21
… and the right tools 21
What about economic recovery? 21
Water worldwide 23
What next? 25
An overview of the Blueprint proposals 25
Further reading and links 27
3
1999
“The trouble with water is that they’re not making any more of it.”
Marq de Villiers: ‘Water: The Fate of our Most Precious Resource’
EU water policy has successfully contributed to these sectors that we can ensure the availability
water protection over the past three decades. of good-quality water for present and future
However, in many regions in Europe, this precious generations. This goal is already enshrined in the
resource is coming under increasing pressure, EU Water Framework Directive adopted in 2000.
in particular from economic activities. We need The Water Blueprint facilitates its implementation
to make sure that EU legislation is fit to respond by identifying remaining obstacles and ways to
to these new challenges. overcome them.
This is why the Blueprint to Safeguard Europe’s The Blueprint proposal, which has been endorsed
Water Resources, presented by the Commission by EU Member States in their conclusions of Decem-
in November 2012, reiterates the need to place ber 2012, is now reflected in the Work Programme
the management of Europe’s water resources of the Common Implementation Strategy under
into a wider perspective, addressing all users the Water Framework Directive. This is an open
of water as well as water’s interactions with other and participatory process in which the Commission,
resources, such as land and energy. If not sustain- Member States and stakeholders work together to
ably managed, water use may exceed the carrying improve the implementation of EU water policy.
capacity of our environment, thereby damaging or
The Blueprint has set the EU water policy agenda
destroying aquatic ecosystems, while having
for the years to come. It is now time to work
negative impacts on human health. This is why
together at all levels to ensure better implemen-
it is important that all sectors that use water
tation, increase policy integration and close
resources, such as industry, agriculture, tourism,
remaining policy gaps.
urban development and energy production, are
sustainably managed. It is only by working across
5
6
Why does Europe need to take action?
Water is the source of life. Both human activities can affect precipitation beyond its borders.
and the natural world depend on it, and in recent Moreover, the European market, EU common pol
years we have become increasingly aware of icies and Member State policies all have significant
the need to protect it. To make sure that enough impacts on water status. Therefore, action at EU
good-quality water is available in the long term, level is needed to face the water challenges of
at the beginning of the millennium the EU adopted the 21st century.
ground-breaking legislation, the Water Framework
Directive (WFD), aiming to achieve ‘good status’ The EU Water Framework
for all Europe’s waters by 2015. Directive: a timetable for
progress
But water is still under growing pressure from
domestic demand, economic activities, urban de- The 2000 WFD is one of the most comprehensive
velopment and climate change. It is dammed to and ambitious pieces of EU environmental legis-
generate energy, polluted by chemicals, hemmed lation. Its main objective is to achieve ‘good status’
in by flood protection barriers, and drained off for for all EU waters, including fresh, transitional
irrigation and farmland. Assessments conducted (river mouths) and coastal waters, by 2015.
by the European Commission and the European
The WFD is complemented by a number of other
Environment Agency (EEA) show a number of
laws governing specific aspects of water policy
problems:
which all contribute to achieving good status. These
Unless stronger action is taken, 47 % of EU include urban waste water, nitrates, industrial emis-
surface water will not meet good ecological sions, pesticides, bathing and drinking water.
status by the 2015 deadline; Under the WFD, water management is organ-
There is a lot of uncertainty related to the ised through a network of river basins, many of
chemical status of surface waters due to which cross frontiers between Member States.
information gaps; For example, the Danube international river basin
A bout 25 % of groundwater is still ex- district is the largest in Europe, touching on
pected to suffer from poor chemical status ten Member States and nine neighbouring
in 2015; countries.
6 0 % of European cities over-exploit their
The WFD sets out a clear timetable for implementa-
groundwater resources and 50 % of wet-
tion, based on six-year management cycles. Mem-
lands are endangered.
ber States were required to draw up River Basin
Sixty per cent of the EU’s territory lies in trans- Management Plans by 2009 and will need to update
boundary river basins. The hydrological cycles them in 2015. Public consultation and participation
are so interconnected that land use in one country in the development of the plans is obligatory.
7
In 2012, the Commission published its imple- Water also plays an important role in controlling
mentation report, assessing all the plans that climate and weather patterns around the globe.
Member States have delivered. The EEA estimates that it would cost EUR 2.5 billion
a year to do the same job artificially!
Water quality or water
quantity? River Basin Management Plan
Water quality and quantity are intrinsically (RBMP) assessment
linked as they depend on each other. Good wa- (November 2012)
ter status not only means controlling pollution, The Commission’s latest WFD implementation
but also involves guaranteeing ecological wa- report found that too many Member States were
ter flow, so that ecosystems can continue to awarding individual bodies of water ‘exemptions’
function and provide their essential services. from the 2015 deadline, and this reflected a “lack
These ecosystem services are of enormous of ambition”. Exemptions often lacked transparent
value. For example, wetlands purify water and criteria to justify them.
absorb carbon.
100%
PERCENTAGE OF SURFACE WATER BODIES
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
EE SK RO SE MT IE PT SI LV LT ES BG AT FR CY DK EL UK FI IT CZ DE HU LU PL NL BE
restoration
According to the WFD, the status of surface waters has two aspects: ecological and chemical.
Both play a role in achieving overall good status.
Ecological status indicates the health of ecosystems, measuring aquatic plant life and fish,
the presence of nutrients, salinity, pollution and water temperature. It also takes account
of morphological features like water flow and depth, and the structure of river beds.
Chemical status is judged by the presence of specific chemicals in water, biota and sediment.
Many of these substances are known to be harmful and are controlled by other EU legislation
such as REACH1, and plant protection products and biocides regulations.
Currently, 45 substances have been identified as ‘priority substances’ under water
legislation requiring control measures or the phasing-out of emissions, discharges and
losses over a 20-year period.
For groundwater, the two aspects taken into consideration are quantitative and chemical status.
9
10
What is the Blueprint?
The Blueprint to safeguard Europe’s water
resources sets out to strengthen and fill the gaps
“We forget that the water cycle
in EU water policy, so as to make a real impact
right across Europe. It draws on a wealth of and the life cycle are one.”
research and information, including the RBMPs Jacques Cousteau
assessment report, and the European Environ-
ment Agency (EEA) State of Water report, as
well as a review of policy on water scarcity and
It does not seek to impose a ‘one-size-fits-all’ so-
drought. Such detailed information has never
lution on every Member State. Aquatic environ-
been available in the past.
ments differ considerably across Europe. Instead
The Blueprint proposals, published in November it emphasises key themes such as land use,
2012, emerge from a collective effort of consult pollution, water efficiency and resilience, and
ation and preparation involving the European governance.
Parliament, Member States, water suppliers and
The success of the Blueprint will depend on
users in industry, scientists, NGOs and the general
Member States’ willingness to take action, and
public.
to involve national and local stakeholders.
It aims to ensure sustainable water use, taking The Commission will make its own contribution
into account the needs of both people and the by monitoring progress, helping to develop imple
natural ecosystems they depend on. mentation tools and enforcing EU water law.
11
12
‘Something better’: the Blueprint proposals
for improving implementation of the law
With the key legislation in place, more effort is develop a system for calculating water balances
needed to make sure it delivers the hoped-for and measuring ecological flows in river basin and
results. The Blueprint sets out specific responsi- sub-catchment areas. The aim is to collect more
bilities and clear timetables for meeting targets. data and create a common understanding of
ecological flow.
The Commission will pay particular attention to
enforcing WFD monitoring requirements. Member Target setting
States should extend nitrate-vulnerable zones
and reinforce action programmes under the Ni- The Blueprint proposes that river basin authorities
trates Directive. Together with the Commission, should develop water efficiency targets, taking
they should prepare implementation plans for into account the water stress indicators developed
the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive by under the WFD Common Implementation Strategy
2014, and improve compliance rates for waste- (CIS). This is an open, collaborative process involv-
water treatment by 2018, through long-term ing national authorities, NGOs and businesses.
investment planning (including EU funding and Targets should cover all water users, including in-
European Investment Bank loans). As of 2016, dustry, agriculture and households, and should
under the Industrial Emissions Directive, Member be linked to achieving the good status objective.
States should also ensure that emissions permits In order to ensure consistency across Europe,
impose Emission Limit Values (ELVs) in line the Commission will develop – together with
with Best Available Techniques (BAT) and take Member States and stakeholders – a common EU
account of relevant water objectives. methodology for setting water efficiency targets.
13
Examples of the cost of water (in EUR) per cubic metre,
in EU Member States (residential/domestic water prices)
6.00
5.00
Cubic metres
4.00
3.00
2.00
1.00
0.00
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Water trading benefits of cutting leakage. The water industry
will play an essential role in developing and
Another implementation tool proposed in the
spreading examples of best practice in Sustainable
Blueprint is water trading: buying and selling water
Economic Leakage Levels (SELL), and in agreeing
access rights. Administrative costs are relatively
a strategic vision for water infrastructure in a world
high, and the scheme would probably only be
of climate change and ever-scarcer resources.
cost-effective at river basin level, not as an EU-wide
initiative. However, it could help to counter water Drought observatory
stress and improve efficiency, and the Commission
Water scarcity and drought have become growing
proposes to develop CIS guidance for Member
problems in many parts of Europe over the last
States that wish to take up this option.
30 years, costing hundreds of billions of euros.
Plugging the leaks Governments need data and indicators in order
to set up efficient early-warning systems. The
Leakage rates vary enormously between and
Commission’s Joint Research Centre has launched
within Member States. But in some places, as
a European Drought Observatory to monitor devel-
much as 50 % of water resources are being lost
opments and publish online forecasts while encour-
before they reach the tap. The Commission be-
aging Member States to factor drought risk into
lieves that a case-by-case approach is necessary
their RBMPs.
to evaluate the environmental and economic
15
16
‘Something more’: water should flow through
all areas of EU policy-making
Many EU policy areas have an impact on water Green infrastructure and natural
status and need to make water policy objectives water-retention measures
an integral part of their planning. They include ag-
The Blueprint calls for action to mitigate the impact
riculture, fisheries, energy, disaster management,
of flood controls, energy generation, navigation and
transport, and funding policies.
agriculture by preserving or restoring – also with
Agriculture EU support – natural green infrastructures, such
Water management needs to play a key role in the as flood plains, wetlands and buffer strips along
EU’s common agricultural policy (CAP), and farmers river banks. These help to store water, prevent
must comply with water policy. Agriculture accounts soil erosion and provide a stable environment for
for 24 % of water abstraction in Europe, and only biodiversity and ecosystems, in turn supporting the
about one-third of this goes back into the environ- objectives of the EU’s Biodiversity Strategy.
ment, so it is a crucial sector. The Commission’s pro- Where hydropower or navigation structures, such
posals for CAP reform would favour the take-up of as dams or locks, interrupt natural water courses,
measures that protect water resources (e.g. crop di- fish passes and lifts should be put in place to
versification and the identification of areas excluded enable migrating fish to breed. Reducing soil
from cultivation) while also providing funding to pro- sealing and preserving small bodies of water, like
mote more efficient irrigation, if coupled with cuts in fish ponds, also contributes to the prevention of
water consumption, in line with the WFD objectives. flooding and erosion.
The EU’s cross-compliance mechanism, which forms Cohesion and Structural Funds
part of the CAP and makes direct payments to
The Blueprint highlights the importance of funding
farmers conditional upon the application of environ-
water-management projects, including natural
mental, animal and plant health standards, could
water-retention measures, water reuse and
also be expanded to include some requirements
leakage reduction, through the EU Cohesion and
from the WFD and the Directive on Sustainable Use
Structural Funds (CSF), and European Investment
of Pesticides. This could be a powerful incentive, at
Bank loans. It recalls the Commission’s proposal
farm level, to reduce pressures on water.
that Member States should first put their RBMPs
in place and introduce pricing policies, before
“We must act to include water
they can access support for water projects under
policy objectives much more the CSF. Moreover, new water-supply infrastructure
into other policies.” should only be developed as a last resort, once
Janez Potočnik, other efforts to reduce demand and maximise
European Commissioner for the Environment efficiency have been exhausted.
17
18
‘Something new’: plugging the gaps
The EU’s legislation on water is already extensive Furthermore, to foster water efficiency in con-
and well developed. But the Blueprint also identi- struction, the Commission decided to develop
fies areas where more work is needed. To this end, voluntary EU Ecolabel and Green Public Procure-
it focuses on two main issues: ment criteria for building materials and products.
19
20
Cross-cutting measures: more knowledge …
The Blueprint aims to strengthen the knowledge What about economic
base for decision-making. The Water Information recovery?
System for Europe (WISE) is already an impressive
The Water Blueprint stresses that water man-
resource, but sometimes information is scattered
agement is not just about environmental pro-
and not easily accessible to policy-makers.
tection, health and well-being. It influences growth
Therefore, the Commission proposes that WISE
and prosperity, too. EU water policy objectives and
be better linked and fully interoperable with nation-
measures also help to ensure that Europe’s water
al databases, helping to build a comprehensive
industry can develop and fulfil its potential, and
picture of aquatic ecosystems.
that all the other economic sectors that depend on
The Commission also plans to harmonise reporting the availability and quality of water can prosper,
cycles under different water directives and facilitate generating growth and job opportunities.
access to key statistics, all with a view to strength-
In Europe, there are 9 000 small and medium-
ening the link between science and policy-making.
sized enterprises, providing 600 000 jobs in water
New research developments under the research utilities. Other water-related sectors offer the
programmes FP7 and Horizon 2020 will con- potential for green growth, including in water-
tribute to a better understanding of how our water using industries and technology development.
ecosystems function.
Europe needs to harness green growth and
… and the right tools become more resource-efficient in order to make
The EU Joint Research Centre is developing a hydro- a sustainable recovery from the economic
economic model to facilitate impact assessment crisis and adapt to future climate change.
and allow water managers to calculate the cost- The Blueprint is closely linked to the EU’s 2020
effectiveness of measures in their RBMPs. strategy and is the ‘water milestone’ on the 2011
The Blueprint proposes a simple, voluntary peer- Resource Efficiency Roadmap. Its objectives
review system to improve the governance of water support all three strands of the strategy: smart,
management. River basin district authorities would sustainable and inclusive growth. Resource ef-
share their draft RBMPs with others, allowing for an ficiency needs to form an integral part of EU
exchange of good ideas and boosting the quality of economic policy within the European Semester
plans overall. The Commission will be available to governance structure, helping to avoid, for ex-
give advice. ample, unnecessary public subsidies. Therefore,
the Commission will look into water-related
To tackle problems like over-allocation and illegal aspects in the Annual Growth Survey and into
abstraction, the Commission also proposes working country-specific recommendations, where ap-
with Member States to promote compliance and to propriate, for individual Member States, in the
establish more effective inspection regimes. framework of the European Semester process.
21
22
Water worldwide
The Blueprint focuses mainly on protecting this has not resolved drinking water access prob-
Europe’s waters. But water is also a global con- lems in many African countries – and 2.5 billion
cern, regardless of frontiers, and closely linked people worldwide still lack adequate sanitation.
to other problems, such as food security,
Population growth and other factors will increase
desertification, climate change and natural
global water demand by 35-60 % by 2025, with
and man-made disasters.
potentially serious implications worldwide.
The Blueprint reiterates the EU’s commitments
The Blueprint proposes that EU development
under international accords such as Agenda 21,
co-operation on water should continue to priori-
the Rio Conventions on desertification, climate
tise access to safe drinking water and sanitation,
change and biodiversity, and the Millennium
sustainable agricultural and improving water
Development Goals (MDGs), as well as last
governance through integrated water resources
year’s United Nations Rio+20 conference.
management (IWRM) at river-basin level, to
In 2010, the UN declared access to safe drinking foster peace and political stability.
water and basic sanitation services to be a human
right, and the 2012 Rio+20 Declaration reaffirmed “When the well’s dry, we know
this right.
the worth of water.”
The global community has met the 2015 MDG
Benjamin Franklin, US statesman (1706-1790)
target of halving the proportion of people without
sustainable access to safe drinking water – but
2) See http://www.generationawake.eu/
23
24
What next?
The Water Blueprint has set out what needs The Commission has pledged to monitor this
to be done to safeguard Europe’s waters over process through an updated scoreboard. If vol-
the coming years. Successful implementation untary approaches turn out to be inadequate,
of these measures will depend to a large extent it will consider amending the WFD, by 2019,
on the commitment of Member States and to introduce additional legal obligations.
stakeholders, and on the WFD CIS.
25
Improvement of governance Peer reviews as of 2014
Implementation of water accounts/ecological
CIS guidance by 2014
flow. Application of target setting
Reduction of flood risk EU enforcement of current regulation
EU enforcement of current regulation,
Reduction of drought risk
European Drought Observatory
Better calculation of costs and benefits
CIS guidance
(together with water pricing)
Interoperability of databases (WISE)
by 2015 +
Better knowledge base
adjustment to reporting and statistical
requirements under EU law
Support to developing countries EU funding
Enforcement of current regulation +
Tackling pollution
cross-compliance for the WFD
Innovation Partnerships, EU Semester
Cross-cutting
recommendations, EU funds
27
European Commission
2013 — 27 pp. — 21 × 21 cm
ISBN 978-92-79-30543-6
doi:10.2779/12145
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doi:10.2779/12145