Revision of the Water Framework Directive: "It will affect the resilience of water services" (EurEau)

"Water service providers are very concerned that the Water Framework Directive (WFD) revision will lead to a weakening of its goals and requirements and, hence, affect the resilience of water services", EurEau writes in a position paper, published on 27/03/26.

They add that "while the RESourceEU Action Plan aims to facilitate access to critical raw materials, the consequences for the quality and quantity of our drinking water resources can be massive."

They highlight the example of pollutants associated with mining activities, including substances that are "extremely difficult to remove from water once contamination has occurred", they explain.

"Some may find the safeguards in the current directive onerous, but they are in place for a reason: if mining, or any other activity, harms the resources we depend on for drinking water, the delivery of water services is jeopardised. If water services are compromised, as critical entities, this has a knock-on effect on the most essential societal and economic functions in the affected area", they add.

According to EurEau, these effects will…