EU Water Resilience Strategy should mean cleaner and more affordable water for consumers

The European Commission today presented its Water Resilience Strategy, the aim of which is environmental protection, competitiveness and to secure clean and affordable water and sanitation for all at all times, and empowering citizens for water resilience. BEUC very much welcomes this action plan as much bolder action is needed to restore and protect the water cycle, to eliminate harmful chemicals, make agricultural practices more sustainable and invest substantially in the EU’s water infrastructure.  

BEUC Director General Agustín Reyna commented:  

“The Commission is rightly putting water high on the political agenda. It is vital to decisively act on water resilience, as access to safe, clean and affordable water is indispensable for consumers. Consumer organisations have traditionally recommended consumers to drink tap instead of bottled water to both save money and the environment. However, this message is becoming increasingly untenable in certain European countries due to heavy water pollution from agriculture and industrial activities. This is in addition to the increasingly high costs that consumers are paying for their water supply, which are higher than for industry or agricultural users.  

“So, we very much welcome this initiative from the Commission. We must ensure that higher use and pollution by agriculture and industry are priced according to the strain they put on the system and phase out PFAS chemicals for non-essential uses. We must also better finance the water system by setting up public funding mechanisms for municipal authorities to support their investment needs. All of this is essential to ensure clean and affordable water supply.”