Towards better water quality, quantity management and more sustainable use of seas
The Commission adopted [...] two new measures to enhance the EU’s water resilience and to improve water quality and quantity throughout the continent.
They include a standard methodology to measure the presence of microplastics in water and a delegated act to ensure that reusing treated wastewater for agricultural irrigation is safe.
Across the EU, many different methods for measuring microplastics in drinking water are used, making it very difficult to compare and interpret monitoring results. The harmonised, standard methodology adopted today will support Member States in gathering information about the presence of microplastics in their water supply chain.
A delegated act on water reuse was also adopted today. In it, the Commission specifies the key technical elements to be examined and taken into account when preparing risk management plans to help authorities and practitioners in the preparation of these plans. These elements include processes for the production, storage and distribution of the reclaimed water, and the identification of potential hazards and risks associated with wastewater reuse.
The Commission published a notice to help Member States further define the ‘good environmental status’ of the seas and to respect the threshold values aimed at allowing the sustainable use of their resources.
In the notice, the Commission clarified that threshold values (e.g. on maximum allowable levels of underwater noise, on maximum allowable amounts of litter on beaches) agreed by Member States at EU level or through regional cooperation should be used when they update their marine strategies under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive by October 2024. By using agreed standards and clarifying parameters against which to assess the ‘good environmental status’ of the seas, Member States also provide certainty to economic operators on how to use the sea sustainably, while avoiding significant or irreversible harm to marine life or habitats.
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Download links to official documents:-
Delegated Act to measure microplastics in water - European Commission (europa.eu)
Notice under Marine Strategy Framework Directive - European Commission (europa.eu)
(PM European Commission, gek.)