Since the European Union came into existence, over twenty directives in the field of water have seen the light of day. Two of these, and a third which is currently in preparation, have had a particular impact during the past decade, changing the European landscape in terms of wastewater and drinking water.
]
By
Richtlinien und Vorschriften in Europa
Seit Aufbau der europäischen Union sind mehr als zwanzig verschiedene auf den Bereich Wasser bezogene Richtlinien ausgearbeitet worden. Zwei davon – und eine dritte, an deren Ausfeilung z. Zt. noch gearbeitet wird – haben während der vergangenen zehn Jahre eine entscheidende Wirkung ausgeübt. Dank dieser Richtlinien hat sich die europäische Haltung im Bereich der Abwasseraufbereitung und der Herstellung von Trinkwasser grundlegend gewandelt.
Since the European Union came into existence, over twenty directives in the field of water have seen the light of day. Two of these, and a third which is currently in preparation, have had a particular impact during the past decade, changing the European landscape in terms of wastewater and drinking water.
The directive on municipal wastewater treatment (91/271/EEC) came out in 1991. One of the first deadlines to be set was 31 December 1998 for conurbations situated in environmentally sensitive zones. By this date, conurbations with a population-equivalent of over 10,000 were required to collect their wastewater and use a tertiary method of treatment. Since this date, sludge from sewage works, which is under strict regulatory control, may no longer be discharged into surface waters. What is the situation today? A report published by the European Commission at the beginning of 1999 underlines the major efforts made by the majority of the European Union’s member states, even if delays in transposing the directive on municipal wastewater treatment have been observed. “It is also the directive which has proved the most costly to member states”, emphasises Bernard Barraqué, a French sociologist who is a member of the Eurowater project. Two conurbations, Milan and Brussels, nevertheless failed to meet the municipal wastewater treatment target.
European diversity
For historical reasons, each country in the European Union has adopted its own system of water management. Between privatisation English style and delegating responsibility to private firms as in France, a range of systems have been set up. The availability and quality of the resource vary from one European Union Member State to another, as do fiscal policies.
For example, in Ireland, ecological fiscal policy is non-existent, explains Frank Convery, Professor at University College. In fact, since 1 January 1997, no households have paid any water rates, following a campaign organised by a politician. In Sweden, over 96 000 surface lakes and high precipitation ensure a plentiful supply of good-quality water. Sixty percent of municipalities have recovered 100 % of their costs, compared with 25 % in areas of low population density. Portugal, whose water resources, though unevenly distributed, are among the highest in Europe, is currently investing in equipment. Belgium is the poorest country in Europe in terms of water resources. Italy, for its part, has adopted a system that has given rise to some 300 water-management units throughout the country. In other words, European water is made up of a wide range of highly differing situations.
This state of affairs makes it difficult to compare the cost of water services. And yet this is the aim of the Eurowater project, which has been in existence since 1993. “Historically, the countries of northern Europe have equipped themselves using public subsidies,” points out Bernard Barraqué, a sociologist at the French National Scientific Research Centre (CNRS) and in charge of Eurowater in France. Every new directive issued forces these same countries to spend more taxpayers’ money. The directive on municipal wastewater treatment has thus been evaluated at 10 billion euros for the British, 12 for the French, 28 for the Italians, and as much as 65 for Germany. The development of more stringent standards on lead in the drinking-water network has met strong resistance from the country most seriously affected, namely France, where the updating work involved could cost up to 100 billion FRF.
As the framework directive provides for water to be paid for by water, each country will have to draw up a cost-recovery timetable. “Today everyone agrees on charging the full cost of providing water services,” points out Bernard Barraqué, adding that “we will therefore have to set up equalisation mechanisms”. A monumental task, which Europeans will have to be persuaded to accept, since everyone is used to his own system of water management. A great deal of resistance is likely to be encountered. For the Member States, water has become a highly political issue, concludes G. Lawrence, Director of DG XI. With the arrival of the euro, competition within the European Union is becoming tougher. In some sectors, production costs are highly dependent on the price of water. Cost recovery will have the effect of erasing these differences.
Milan discharges wastewater from a population-equivalent of 3 million directly into the Lambro, a tributary of the Po. The Lambro is considered to be one of the most highly polluted rivers in Italy, whereas the Po is so polluted that bathing and irrigation are prohibited. The fact that the river is unable to support fish life clearly illustrates the scale of the disaster. This even affects the Adriatic, which is highly eutrophic. Required to pay a daily fine of 185 850 euros, Italy has announced that Milan’s wastewater will be treated from 2003. In Belgium, it is Brussels, the administrative capital of the European Union, which still has no treatment facilities and discharges its wastewater directly into the river Senne. In the city centre, the river has been covered over to avoid disease and odours. Downstream from Brussels, it is more like an open sewer than a river. The Senne flows into the Escaut, thus polluting the coastal waters of the North Sea, which are characterised by a high level of eutrophication. According to the Belgian authorities, Brussels’ wastewater collection and treatment facilities will not comply with the directive on municipal wastewater treatment before 2003 or 2004. Last December, the Commission therefore decided to issue Belgium with a substantiated recommendation.
In the other Member States, there have been numerous initiatives to try to reduce pollution from inadequately treated municipal wastewater discharges. In the special case of transborder rivers, joint commissions will be set up with the aim of improving river protection. Following the example of those overseeing the Rhine and the Meuse, an international protection commission for the Escaut was recently officially set up. Representatives of French, Dutch, Flemish and Walloon groups and from Brussels have come to the negotiating table and are now trying to harmonise their methods so as to achieve better results. The towns themselves have not remained inactive. Thus, the conurbation of Lille in the north of France is building sewage-treatment works to the new standards in common with its Belgian neighbours.
In terms of water distribution, the standards are set by the directive on the quality of water for human consumption (80/778/EEC). A revised version of this drinking-water directive (98/83/EC) came into force on 3 November 1998, and most notably tackles the problem of lead in drinking-water distribution networks. The maximum permitted level of lead in water as it leaves the tap, and no longer as it leaves the water-treatment plant, will be 10 µg/l in 2023, with an intermediate stage at 25 µg/l. In developing the revised directive, the European Commission has adopted the same health stance as the World Health Organization. In France, 10 million of the 26 million homes throughout the country are affected by the new measures. Although the time limits have been fixed, it is left up to each country to calculate the cost of such changes. Furthermore, while reaching agreement on this directive, the Member States have avoided assigning the responsibility for carrying out the necessary changes.
The opening up of Eastern Europe
When the European Union opens its doors, there is a rush of countries to join. Yet the requirements for entry are stringent, since countries applying must respect the standards laid down by the EU, notably on environmental matters. Eleven countries have currently applied to join the EU. Six of them — Estonia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Hungary and Cyprus — are in the preliminary stages of negotiation. The other five — Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria — await the decision of the European Council next December. Countries wishing to join must be in a position to comply with European environmental legislation, insists Zofia Tucinska, in charge of European enlargement at the European Commission Directorate-General for the Environment. In the event of non-compliance, they may ask the Commission for the implementation of standards to be deferred. “Discussions concern these waiting periods,” emphasises Zofia Tucinska, “and not the standards themselves”. In the field of water, these countries will have to make considerable efforts to improve the supply of drinking water and, more particularly, the treatment of wastewater. European programmes have been set up to speed up the treatment of wastewater. However, billions of euros will be needed to achieve the planned results.
English nitrates targeted
The latest directive that will shape the future for water in Europe is the framework directive, still in gestation in the corridors of Brussels.
“The very high pressure on water resources and the multiplicity of directives means that a coherent framework must be provided for water management,” points out Pierre Strosser, of DGXI in Brussels. Among the many points dealt with in the framework directive the price of water is crucial. “It is important to be able to discriminate between cost recovery by the water services and externalities,” he emphasises, adding that the diversity of existing situations will be a determining factor in fixing the price of water.
The framework directive also introduces the requirement for an economic analysis of the various uses of water. This will be a “first” in a European directive, though it must be said that the calculation will be difficult to carry out.
“The economic analysis could prove most helpful for decision making,” states Bruno Johannes, of the Seine-Normandie Water Agency. “However, the study should not be left in the hands of the economists”, concludes this French economist.
