The annual Bathing Water report published today shows that in 2020, almost 83 % of Europe’s bathing water sites met the European Union’s most stringent ‘excellent’ water quality standards. The latest assessment (European bathing water quality in 2020), put together by the European Environment Agency (EEA) in cooperation with the European Commission, is based on […]
Prestigious European research on floods has a physicist from the University of Almeria
Fernando Sánchez keeps the University of Almería in the international vanguard of scientific contribution by participating in a major project carried out by 34 research groups from all over the continent. This reseach has been published in the prestigious magazine Nature. The last 500 years have been analysed and one of the main conclusions […]
Quality of Europe’s bathing waters remains high, latest annual assessment finds
The quality of Europe’s bathing water remains high, according to this year’s European bathing water quality assessment published today. Just under 85 % of swimming sites across Europe monitored in 2019 met the European Union’s highest and most stringent ‘excellent’ quality standards. The results published by the European Environment Agency (EEA) and the European […]
Safe and clean drinking water in the EU
The EU is ensuring that tap water across the EU is safe to drink. Recently, the Council’s Permanent Representatives Committee (Coreper) confirmed the provisional agreement that was reached with the European Parliament on 18 December 2019 on a proposal to revise the drinking water directive. Today’s endorsement clears the way for final adoption. Helathy water […]
The effect of wastewater contaminants on crops
Growing antibiotic resistance is risking the health of future populations. As part of the problem stems from antibiotics entering agriculture via treated wastewater. Current situation With increasing demand for freshwater resources due to climate change and global population growth, reusing wastewater has become a viable alternative for crop irrigation in water stressed regions. However, this […]
ECHA will work on healthier potable water
ECHA will start to compile a list of substances that can be safely used in materials that come into contact with drinking water. The aim is to improve consumer protection and ensure equal safety standards for industry. With the recast of the Drinking Water Directive, ECHA has been given a task to compile and manage […]
New challenges facing Europe’s waste water treatment plants present opportunities for improving sustainability
More investment is needed to make urban waste water treatment plants fit to meet the difficult challenges posed by the impacts of climate change, as well as the presence of antibiotics and other micro-pollutants in waste water, according to the European Environment Agency (EEA). Current challenges Much has already been done in recent decades to […]
Safe drinking water and sanitation: Council approves EU guidelines
On 17 June 2019 the Council adopted conclusions approving EU human rights guidelines on safe drinking water and sanitation. 2.1 billion people lack access to safely managed drinking water services and 4.5 billion people lack safely managed sanitation services in the world. Climate change will increasingly affect water availability and access. Across the globe, tensions […]