Low Level of Water Reuse in Europe
Published on by Water Network Research, Official research team of The Water Network in Social
The Reasons ofWater Re-use Not Being Widespread in Europe Despite ItsConsiderable Potential for Further Development
Water re-use is not widespread in Europe. Most wastewater from urban treatment plants is simply flushed out into rivers and lakes. But increasing re-use would help us respond to the increasing problems of water scarcity and drought, while reducing the risk of contamination from wastewater and lowering treatment costs. Re-use of water also has a lower environmental impact than getting it from other sources such as inter-regional water transfers or desalination.
In spite of these advantages and the considerable potential for further development, there are several reasons why the level of re-use is so low, including:
Lack of common EU environmental/health standards for water re-use
Potential obstacles to the free movement of agricultural products that were irrigated with re-used water
Inadequate water pricing and business models
Low stakeholder awareness about the benefits of water re-use
Lack of public acceptance
Technical barriers and scientific uncertainties
The European Commission is launching a public consultation on a range of possible EU measures that would encourage the re-use of treated wastewater. We want to know what citizens, stakeholders, businesses, NGOs and public authorities think about the potential of re-use and obstacles to it, and what kind of regulatory and non-regulatory EU measures could effectively address these concerns and increase the uptake of safe water re-use in the EU.
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