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MEMBERS OF THE European Parliament have voted to adopt new rules which aim to improve the quality of and access to drinking water as well as reduce plastic waste from water bottles.
Most people in the European Union have good access to high quality drinking water. More than 98.5% of tests carried out on drinking water samples between 2011 and 2013 met EU standards, according to a 2016 report by the European Environment Agency.
On average, every person in the EU consumes up to 106 litres of bottled water every year.
Research by the European Commission has found that reducing the consumption of bottled water could help households in Europe save more than €600 million per year, and have a positive impact on the environment by reducing CO2 emissions and plastic waste.
This week, MEPs voted in favour of updating rules to increase consumer confidence and encourage the drinking of tap water. They have called on EU countries to “promote universal access” to clean water for everyone.
MEPs also voted overwhelmingly in favour of an EU-wide ban on single-use plastics such as straws, cutlery and cotton buds. Some 500,000 tonnes of plastic waste from the EU end up in the sea every year. The legislation still needs to be approved in negotiations involving member states and the Commission.
The EU Drinking Water Directive sets minimum quality standards for water intended for human consumption (drinking, cooking, other domestic purposes), in order to protect people from contamination.
The new rules include:
The rules also have to be negotiated with the Commission before they come into effect.
Dublin MEP Brian Hayes said the European Parliament has recognised that “consumers’ trust in drinking water from the tap needs to be restored”.
Hayes noted that Ireland has “had our challenges … with cryptosporidium outbreaks in our water and this has naturally impacted on people’s ability to drink from the tap”.
“These updated rules should impact positively on our drinking water standards in this country – providing monetary savings for consumers as well as assisting us to play our part in tackling plastic waste.”
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My dog wont drink the tap water in my area,says it all
@Tomas: my dog did ,alas he is no more.
@Peter Kiernan:
Are you saying that a public drinking water supply killed your dog?
@Tomas: EU/ECB steps in to resurrect IW. You will drink it.
Stop contaminating the domestic water supplies with industrial waste for a start
@Lambo Moonski: unfiltered tap water tastes disgusting. Too much chlorine and the addition of fluoride which is unnecessary just make it undrinkable.
@Leitrim303: home distillation, 4 litres in 6 hours…. €350 plus electricity, still cheaper than bottled and 100% pure
Stick to cans of beer instead
@tomcolgan: Good idea, less fluoride
@Kevin McSavage: More aluminium though! xD
Odd that we need the EU to make rules on improving the confidence to drink tap water, isn’t this something government here should be enforcing ?
@wattsed: there’s lots of things we wouldn’t have done if the EU had not pushed us. We’re still crapping in our rivers and seas unfortunately.
@wattsed: historically unless the EU forces us to change Ireland has a awful record when it comes to the environment and waste.
It’s like you’re at school and the EU’s the teacher. Except it’s real life.
I wouldn’t drink the tap water at home in a million years. The smell alone let’s me know there is stuff in it that shouldn’t be put in my body
Why is it not reported that they also voted to cut people off for not,or cannot,pay water charges,it is in the same bill as those mentioned above.
As well as reducing plastic waste – There should be tapped water available in every street as it is much safer than drinking out of – Plastic Bottles Release Potentially Harmful Chemicals (Bisphenol A) After Contact With Hot Liquids https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080130092108.htm
@GO GREEN: There is a number stamped in a triangle (see image below) on the bottom of just about every plastic bottle we use, which varies from one to seven. To be certain that you are choosing a bottle that does not leach, check the recycling symbol on your bottle. If it is a #2 HDPE (high density polyethylene), or a #4 LDPE (low density polyethylene), or a #5 PP (polypropylene), your bottle is fine.
@David Carino: Thanks for the extra info David.
@David Carino:
Are you saying that #1 PET is not safe to drink from?
The EU can f××k ××f
It’s far from bottled water we were reared, never done us any harm, people buying into the marketing wank and paying through the nose for something that pours relatively freely from every tap in the country. The resources wasted on producing, bottling, transporting, and retailing this stuff is horrendous.
Roll in the water charges . The EU Runs this country , never forget that when wasting your time voting for the local caretakers.
Should be a one Euro tax on every single plastic bottle
@Peter Byrne: what a stupid comment
One week its conserve water, water charges , then its drink more tap water blah blah. They only want the big water companies to make the money as they are in bed with them as they losing that money to the bottled water companies because they let them use the water for free. You reap what you so
Nitrates in water is a big problem in Ireland. Mainly put there by farming. Not good to drink, especially for babies and children. Check the epa maps to see how bad it is in your area.
@Paul A Whelan: Phosphates, the pill, medications, waste water etc etc…
no mention of Lynn Boylan in the article, the only Irish MEP who was working on this piece of legislation. Also no mention of Brian Hayes voting in favour of amendments which would have weakened the legislation
Seconds away……round 2 of water charges introduction!
So drink more IW and give them the money instead?
so the eu want us to stop drinking bottled water and drink tap water instead – the SAME eu that wants us to scrap our public owned water and introduce a system run by private companies — and they wonder WHY people dont trust the eu
“Most people in the European Union have good access to high quality drinking water. More than 98.5% of tests carried out on drinking water samples between 2011 and 2013 met EU standards, according to a 2016 report by the European Environment Agency.”
BUT it is known that drinking water has traces of the medications people use that is flushed through their system and out of them then as it is flushed away and these are then found in drinking water as untreatable substances?
have your say