Europe Failing Its Own Water Quality Standards

Water in over 6,000 towns and cities across Europe is failing EU environmental standards, putting the health of millions of people at risk and rendering taxpayers liable for fines of over €1 billion a year, new research shows.

Brussels itself, the home of the European Commission, is among 6,311 areas that are not meeting the requirements.

Victor Bostinaru, a Romanian MEP, who presented the findings at a meeting in the EU yesterday (March 26), said: “This report demonstrates the scale of the problem that exists across the 27 EU member states. The quality of water in many countries has to improve and the money needs to be found to make it happen – starting with the city of Brussels, in which the European Union’s institutions are based.

“As we prepare to commit billions of euros of investment to infrastructure projects, through the EU Cohesion Fund, we must demand improvements from these failing cities, regions and countries.

“Every country needs to apportion funds to meet minimum standards of water quality that we should all expect across Europe.

“Investing in better water treatment systems will safeguard public health, protect delicate ecosystems, save energy, reduce chemical use, support industry and even provide jobs.”

Lance Reisman, President of Hach Lange, one of the world’s leading providers of instrumentation for water quality testing and treatment optimisation, said: “Clearly some parts of Europe have issues that need addressing, however the good news is that solutions are readily available.

“Our experience in working across Europe has proven that investment reaps significant benefits.”

Hach Lange was invited to the launch of Mr Bostinaru's report as leading analytical experts on European water.

Some of the continent’s most popular tourist destinations are not fully compliant with EU water laws, the research showed, including Pisa in Italy, Halkidiki in Greece, Balaton in Hungary and Ayia Napa in Cyprus.

Capital cities where water is sub-standard include Bucharest (Romania), Sofia (Bulgaria), Madrid (Spain), Budapest (Hungary) and Rome (Italy).

The worst five country offenders are: Romania: 2,476 failures; Spain: 1,148; Bulgaria: 901; Hungary: 631; Italy: 443

The researchers examined official EU data to determine for the first time which towns and cities are failing the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive, a piece of legislation which came out in the 1990s in order to improve water standards. The directive applies to the collection, treatment and discharge of domestic and industrial waste water.

The EU Cohesion Fund was set up in 1994 to provide funding for environmental and infrastructure projects. Decisions on its latest round of spending are expected within months.