EurEau newsletter - edition 49 - July 2020
EurEau News
EurEau Briefing Note on the impact of drought on drinking water
Drought is becoming a more common occurrence across Europe. Our briefing note outlines the challenges the water sector faces and how water operators and governance authorities respond to these.
EU news
UWWTD: update
The public consultation on the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive is expected for the first semester of 2021, while the impact assessment is foreseen for the second semester.
The European Commission published the of the revision of the UWWTD on 23 July. You can read more here. Waste water monitoring for outbreaks of viruses such as Covid-19 is included. You can read more about the JRC project later in the newsletter.
The Commission and the German Presidency will jointly organise a conference on the revision of the UWWTD, covering the designation of sensitive areas and coherence with other EU legislation, the thresholds for phosphorus and nitrogen and the Micropollutants Regulation and financing of respective measures.
The conference is due to take place on 26-27 November 2020 in Berlin.
Chemicals: Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability and PFAS
EurEau answered the initiated by the competent authorities of the five Member States.
The Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability is due to be published by the end of September.
The Plenary of the European Parliament adopted a resolution on the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability. You can find the final version .
Feedback: Sustainable Use of Pesticides Directive
We submitted our on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides Directive.
Public Consultation: Pharmaceuticals Strategy
DG SANTE is conducting a public consultation on the Pharmaceuticals Strategy whose aim is to guarantee the access to affordable medicines.
DG Sante of the European Commission organised a limited-availability workshop on 14-15 July.
Agriculture and CAP
The Commission published a public on the impact of farming on water.
The CAP file is still blocked in the European Parliament.
Roadmap: EU Methane Strategy
The Commission published its roadmap for a which explicitly points at measures to be taken in waste water treatment and sludge treatment and use.
The deadline for comments is 5 August 2020.
Input: Climate Change
We submitted feedback to the Roadmap on the Climate Adaptation Strategy.
Water legislation: fitness check
The ENVI Committee is drafting a MfR on the Water Legislation fitness check. The amendments are available
SARS-CoV-2 Monitoring project JRC
DG SANTE and the European Commission’s Secretary General are getting involved in the monitoring of SARS-CoV2 in waste water.
The first results of the JRC study confirm that there is a trend between cases in the general population and the presence of the RNA of the virus in the waste water. The second sampling campaign should take place in August to have a more robust monitoring. Updates are published on the JRC website. On 22 July, a second town-hall meeting gathered 224 people to share experience around the world with SARS-CoV-2 monitoring in sewers.
The communication of the European Commission on the mentions the initiative on the surveillance of the virus in waste water in the on-going actions. They also refer to the original initiatives of several Member States that were regrouped under the umbrella project of the JRC, DG ENV and DG SANTE.
OECD report on water and agriculture
This from the OECD looks at the agriculture and water policy changes from 2009 to 2019 and assesses the alignment of these changes with relevant sections of the OECD Council Recommendation on Water and the 2017 G20 Agriculture Ministerial Action Plan on water and food security.
Joint statement from Suez and Veolia
Suez and Veolia issued a calling for a sustainable recovery with investments in water assets.
Communications news
AWE magazine published our briefing note on PFAS in the urban water cycle. You can read it .
Events
1-3 September 2020 – Online. IWA - Nutrient Recovery & Removal. The top researchers and innovative experts of nutrient recovery and removal are joining forces on-line for IWA’s Nutrient Recovery & Removal virtual conference organised by Aalto University and HSY. .
30 November-1 December - An international conference on will take place under the German Presidency
30 November -The International Water Association is co-organising the first IWA together with the Consorcio de Aguas Bilbao Bizkaia and AEAS in Bilbao, Spain.
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17-18 November 2020 - 3rd Water JPI Conference from in Mulheim an der Ruhr. .
1-4 December 2020 – International Conference: Water, Megacities and Global Change. .
9-14 May 2021- .
17-20 May 2021 – LuWQ2021, 5th International Interdisciplinary Conference on LAND USE AND WATER QUALITY: Agriculture and the Environment. .
25-28 May 2021 – CEOCOR; hosted by ÖVGW in Vienna, Austria.
31 May – 2 June 2021 - (postponed from 15-16 June 2020) (ESPC4) and PERM, Vienna, Austria
More…
11-13 August 2021 - Water Safety Conference in Norway. .
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