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In This Issue
Implementation of Directive 91/676/EEC “nitrates”
Next steps in EU environmental policy
23 March 2010
Drinking Water Quality Conference on “Emerging Contaminants and Advanced Treatment Technologies: How Much Further Can We Go?”(
more
)
London
, UK
24-25th
March 2010
Water Quality Standards or Carbon Reduction - Is there a balance?
25 March 2010
The Water Framework Directive: what are the business opportunities
26-28 April 2010
Conference on Integrated River Basin Management under the Water Framework Directive
Lille
, France
26-27 May 2010
SAWA Mid-Term-Conference
Göteborg
, Sweden
(
more
)
2-4 June 2010
First Announcement and Call for Abstracts
IWA Specialist Conference “Water and Wastewater Treatment Plants in Towns and Communities of the XXI Century: Technologies, Design and Operation”
(
more
)
Moscow, Russia
3-5 June 2010
Save Energy, Save Water, Save the Planet – International Conference and Exhibition
Sofia, Bulgaria (
more
)
14-18 June 2010
21st
International specialized course OPERATION AND CONTROL OF ACTIVATED SLUDGE PROCESSES USING MICROSCOPIC ANALYSIS
Perugia Italy (
more
)
Policy agenda
15-16 March 2010
Meeting of the WFD working group E 3”chemical aspects”
Brussels, Belgium
15-16 March 2010
Meeting of the WFD working group E “priority substances”
Brussels, Belgium
22 March 2010
Aquawareness workshop
Brussels, Belgium
6-7 April 2010
CIS Workshop on "Pilot River Basin Network on Agriculture”
Sevilla, Spain
7 April 2010
3rd
meeting of the EP intergroup on water
Brussels, Belgium
27-28 April 2010
Meeting of the WFD working group Floods
Brussels, Belgium
5 May 2010
4th
meeting of the EP intergroup on water
Brussels, Belgium
5-6 May 2010
Meeting of the WFD Strategic Coordination Group
Brussels, Belgium
20-21 May 2010
Meeting of the WFD working group C “groundwater”
Madrid
26-28 May 2010
CIS thematic workshop on pluvial and flash floods
Cagliari, Italy
Contact us
European Relations:
Frédéric de Hemptinne
EWA Secretariat
Boryana Dimitrova
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Dear readers,
With the receipt of this monthly letter you will not only be well informed about the different activities and initiatives of the EWA, but also of the new events organised by our association. We will also be providing you with interesting inside news directly from the EU capital Brussels
, from the European Commission and the European institutions. The EWA newsletter also gives a good insight into the EWA member associations, into their activities and aims.
We hope that you will agree that the EWA newsletter provides expertise information and therefore proves to be of interesting reading, so that you might want to recommend it further to other water professionals and experts.
The EWA newsletter service is provided monthly and is free of charge.
EU blueprint for water policy in 2012
2012 will be important year for the water sector as 3 important deliverables are to be expected at that time:
-
The assessment report by the Commission on the River Basin Management plans that Member States are due to enforce in 2010.
-
The next phase of Climate Change adaptation policy review
-
The review of strategy on Water Scarcity and Droughts.
The conjunction of these 3 milestones is already referred to as the EU Blueprint
Water scarcity and droughts
In 2009, only 15 Member States submitted reports to the EC Commission. The 2nd follow-up reports of the Communication on water scarcity and droughts is to be adopted in the next future. It will consider the following topics:
-
Putting the right price tag on water (including metering)
-
Allocating water and water-related funding more efficiently (CAP, Cohesion)
-
Improving drought risk management (plans, prototype of the European Drought Observatory)
-
Considering additional water supply infrastructures (alternative water supply options)
-
Fostering water efficient technologies and practices (proposal with possible options in 2011)
-
Introduction of a water-saving culture in Europe (Eco-Design Directive 2005/32/EC, Ecolabel, Green Procurement)
-
Improve knowledge and data collection (indicators, proposal for European Water Scarcity and Drought Information system)
Article 4.7 has been rarely used in draft IRBM plans. On the other hand, EC receives contradictory information on new developments. Therefore, it decided to do a screening for later comparison with RBM Plans and for answering complaints. This screening will be used as an internal tool and will be based on:
-
EU funded projects (mainly Structural Funds major projects)
-
Information from consultants in all Member States
-
Other sources of information
This screening is about to be completed. It reveals almost 300 possible contentious projects that are related to navigation (40%), followed by flood protection (27%) and hydropower (16%).
The 2nd
EP water intergroup meeting discussed the EU action on the implementation of the Water Millennium Development Goal in line with the upcoming UN review this autumn. Some progress has been achieved in the water sector but it did not take place everywhere at the same pace. Unfortunately, the countries which are in the worst position (namely the sub-Saharan Africa) show very little improvement. Needs are becoming even more urgent when climate change comes into consideration. In response, the EC Commission wants to put greater emphasis on:
-
Framing the water issues within a basin management approach.
-
Strengthening the integration with other MDG.
-
Liaison between the EU water initiative and national initiatives in developing countries
On 11 February 2010, the EC Commission has launched a second call for proposals under the water facility (
more
). Participation is widely open but projects must demonstrate that they will involve local beneficiaries.
The EC Commission has just released the 4th implementation report 2004-2007 (
report
and
annexes
), which reviews:
-
Evolution of pressures (there was a discussion on the reasons behind the decrease of agricultural fertilizers. A trend also appears for advanced treatment of manure)
-
Water quality (groundwater is recovering slowly compared to surface water)
-
Designation of vulnerable zones (Coordination with the WFD implementation is problematic in some MS)
-
Improvement of Action Program (improvement seem to have been driven by infringement procedures)
Next steps in EU environmental policy
Speaking at a round table organized by the Committee of Regions on March 3, 2010, the new European Commissioner for Environment, MR Janez Potočnik, reaffirmed its main priorities for his mandate
-
Making the EU more resource efficient (not only energy but all material resources including water),
-
Strengthening the resilience of our ecosystems and halting the loss of biodiversity,
-
Making sure we implement environmental legislation effectively.
He concluded by stressing again the need for involvement of all EU actors and stakeholders in the tasks ahead (
more
).
On March 3, 2010, the EC Commission presented a 10-year strategy for reviving the European economy, casting a vision of ‘smart, sustainable, inclusive' growth rooted in greater coordination of national and European policy. One of the 3 areas for action is about going green for a competitive economy, which can be viewed as increased productivity, matched by a reduction in emissions so as to fight climate change, and an increase in the proportion of energy coming from renewable sources (
more
).
FP7 research project CLICO
The Kick-off meeting of the SSH FP7 project CLICO "Climate change, hydro-conflicts and human resources" took place on 25-27 February 2010 in Barcelona. It is aimed at filling the gap in knowledge over the social dimensions of climate change, by investigating whether hydro-climatic hazards intensify social tensions and conflicts in the Mediterranean, Maghreb, Middle East and Sahel. It is forming a 'cluster' with two other FP7 research projects, CLIMB and WASSERMED (
more
).
The environmental trade fair, IFAT ENTSORGA, the 16th International Trade Fair for Water – Sewage – Refuse – Recycling, will take place from 13 to 17 September in 2010.
It is the world’s most important trade fair for innovations and new developments in the fields of water, sewage, refuse and recycling. The event offers an attractive exhibition programme featuring state-of-the-art technology and a broad range of professional services for water, sewage and refuse management.
The European Water Association will organise a one-and-a-half-days International Symposium “Sustainable Wastewater Management New Strategies, Technologies and Innovative Solutions” (14-15 September 2010) (
more
)
If you are interested to present a poster during the symposium, please do not hesitate to
contact us
.
A low carbon water industry
Working with WaterUK, Ofwat and Defra, the UK Environment Agency has led a research project to understand the challenges around water industry carbon reduction, develop the evidence and help inform future policy and regulation (
more
).
XEROCHORE
XEROCHORE is a FP7 Support Action aimed at assisting in the development of a European Drought Policy in accordance with the EU-Water Framework Directive. Final results were presented in Brussels on 22-24 February 2010 (see
project’s website
)
Water footprint manual
The Water Footprint Network and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development released in November 2009 its Water Footprint Manual (
more
), covering a comprehensive set of methods for water footprint accounting. This manual is open for comment till May 2010.
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