Food System

Drinking water, the universal right and the EU directive

July 9, 2021

Regular access to clean water and sanitation is a universal human right, proclaimed by the UN General Assembly on 7/28/10. (1) And it is at the same time the sixth of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in UN Agenda 2030. Although it is still a mirage for more than 56 percent of the planetary population, partly due to (geo)political instrumentalization (2,3).

‘Water and sanitation are a human right! Water is a public good, not a commodity!’

EU Directive 2184/2020-which member states must transpose by 12.1.23-updates drinking water quality requirements from the previous legislation (4,5). However, without considering, among other things, the risks of microplastic contamination. In spite of the specific WHO recommendation (2019) and their detection in large watersheds and human placenta (6,7,8).

Right2Water, the European citizens’ initiative.

Right2Water

is the first European citizens’ initiative to have collected, and far exceeded, the number of signatures required for its effective follow-up. (9) The European Commission received the initiative – ‘Drinking water and sanitation: a universal human right! Water is a common good, not a commodity!‘ – on 20.12.13, with 1,659,543 verified signatures, and responded to it (partially) by communication 19.3.14. (10)

The goals of the initiative, promoted by the European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU), are essentially threefold:

– EU institutions and member states must ensure that all inhabitants effectively enjoy the right to water and sanitation (at affordable prices and with social support measures),

– water supply and water management should be excluded from ‘internal market rules’. Therefore, liberalization of the relevant services must be ruled out,

– the EU must increase its efforts, internationally, to promote the achievement of universal access to water and sanitation by every human being.

Drinking water quality, the EU directive 2184/2020

EU Directive 2184/2020 – the first concrete result of the Right2Water citizens’ initiative – updates the regulations on the quality of water intended for human consumption with respect to the criteria introduced by the General Food Law and subsequent legislation. (11) Reg. EC 178/02-as well as including drinking water in the definition of food (Art. 2.2)-introduced risk analysis as a criterion underlying any legislation of relevance to food safety.

Safety and quality must be ensured–based on risk analysis and verification of chemical and microbiological requirements–throughout the drinking water supply and distribution chain. Water reservoirs, treatment and storage facilities (including water infrastructure and distribution pipelines), up to delivery points. Therefore, EU dir. 2184/2020 also addresses domestic distribution, with a focus on monitoring hospitals, healthcare facilities, etc.

Construction materials and water distribution

The European reform devotes special treatment to the compliance of construction materials used in reservoirs, aqueducts and water networks, understood as all the pipelines, equipment, artifacts and shunts put in place to supply public utilities and private users. Therefore, the criteria and requirements to be followed in assessing the suitability of certain materials, potentially hazardous to health, for contact with drinking water are defined.

The European Chemical Agency (ECHA) has therefore been tasked with compiling and updating lists of chemicals that may be used in the EU to ensure the safety of materials intended to come into contact with water for human consumption. In the continuing wait for a systematic reform of the regulation of materials, articles and substances intended to come into contact with food (MOCA or FCM, Food Contact Materials). (12)

Chemical and microbiological standards

Annex I of EU Directive 2184/2020 defines the new standards to be applied and verified to ensure the safety and quality of drinking water. The requirements are divided into four Parts:

A) microbiological parameters,

B) chemical parameters,

D) parameters ‘relevant to the risk assessment of domestic distribution systems‘.

The restriction of allowable contaminant limits is one of the key points of the new framework. EU dir. 2184/2020 has in fact lowered the threshold values, to ensure the safety of water also with respect to some emerging risks-or rather, already widely emerged in the scientific literature-that are relevant to food safety and public health.

Stricter water quality parameters

The most important changes, as far as microbiological parameters are concerned, relate to the establishment of stricter threshold values in contamination by Pseudmonas, a family of Gram-negative pathogenic bacteria that often cause nosocomial infections (in patients admitted to hospitals and clinics) with antibiotic resistance problems (13,14). Stricter limits are also set on bacterial load at 22 °C (ambient bacterial load) and 37 °C (human bacterial load).

On the other hand, chemical parameters have been updated either by reducing threshold values or by introducing new substances to the list. Among the various changes are, in particular, those related to:

– bisphenol A (BPA), an endocrine disruptor commonly used in polycarbonate production, including in MOCAs, still subject to mild restrictions on use in the EU,

– chlorates and chlorites. Inorganic by-products of chemical disinfection of water by chlorine and its compounds, which EFSA (2015) had already recommended to reduce,

– PFAS. Fluorinated compounds are a heterogeneous group of more than 4,500 synthetic chemicals that are also widely used in MOCAs. Endocrine disruptors and reprotoxics, known as forever chemicals because of their ability to endure in the environment and accumulate in the body,

– Haloacetic acids,

– microcystin LR,

– uranium.

Less bottled water, less plastic waste production and disposal

Bottled water consumption is associated with plastic production (with increased greenhouse gas emissions) whose recycling rate is still very low(41 percent the EU average). EU dir. 2184/2020 therefore aspires to incentivize water consumption of water networks, at least in words. (15) Inviting member states to:

– Ensure water supply inside and outside public spaces,

– Encourage the availability of drinking water dispensers, in administrations and public buildings, and the provision of the same (free or moderately priced) to customers of cafeterias, canteens and food services,

– Take measures to improve access to water by the most vulnerable social groups (e.g., refugees, nomadic and homeless communities).

Public information

The European Commission is confident of at least a 17 percent reduction in the consumption of water in plastic bottles through improved drinking water requirements and transparency of information to the public. Thus, EU dir. 2184/2020 requires member states to ensure easy public access to information on drinking water quality (Article 14, Annex IV. With particular regard to:

– Analytical outcomes of control and monitoring programs,

– Treatment and disinfection methods applied,

– Exceeding parameter values,

– Risk assessment and management systems,

– tips on how to reduce water consumption and avoid health risks caused by standing water,

– indicators that may affect the organoleptic characteristics of water and could influence consumer perception (percentage content of iron, hardness, minerals, etc.).

Dario Dongo, Ylenia Patti Giammello

Notes

(1) Dario Dongo. Universal right to water. Égalité. 7/27/19, https://www.egalite.org/acqua/

(2) Dario Dongo, Sabrina Bergamini. Water and sanitation, governments and corporations. GIFT(Great Italian Food Trade). 7/28/20, https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/idee/acqua-e-igiene-governi-e-caporali

(3) Dario Dongo. Covid-19, World Water Report. Precautions impossible for 55% of humanity. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 4/17/20, https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/sicurezza/covid-19-world-water-report-precauzioni-impossibili-al-55-dell-umanità

(4) EU Dir. 2020/2184, concerning the quality of water intended for human consumption. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/IT/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32020L2184&qid=1625860147861

(5) Dario Dongo, Ylenia Desireè Patti Giammello. Drinking and process water, ABC. GIFT(Great Italian Food Trade). 8.12.18, https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/salute/acqua-potabile-e-di-processo-abc

(6) Marta Strinati. Microplastics in drinking water, WHO calls for risk assessment. GIFT(Great Italian Food Trade). 8/22/19, https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/sicurezza/microplastiche-nell-acqua-potabile-l-oms-chiede-valutazione-dei-rischi

(7) Sabrina Bergamini, Dario Dongo. Microplastics in the water of Italian lakes, the silent emergency. GIFT(Great Italian Food Trade). 5.7.20, https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/sicurezza/microplastiche-nell-acqua-dei-laghi-italiani-l-emergenza-silenziosa

(8) Marta Strinati. Microplastics in the human placenta. Italian researchers’ discovery. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 11.12.20, https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/salute/microplastiche-nella-placenta-umana-la-scoperta-di-ricercatori-italiani

(9) Right2Water, European Citizens Initiative (ECI). Procedure summary sheet at https://europa.eu/citizens-initiative/initiatives/details/2012/000003_it

(10) Communication from the Commission on the European citizens’ initiative ‘Drinking water and sanitation: a universal human right! Water is a common good, not a commodity!’ (COM/2014/0177 final). https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/IT/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52014DC0177&qid=1625862765604

(11) The quality of water for human consumption was in fact subject to dir. 98/83/EC (implemented in Italy by Legislative Decree 31/01) as amended. To reg. EC 178/03 was followed by the Hygiene Package (reg. EC 852, 853/04 et seq.) and reg. EC 1935/04 on Materials and Objects in Contact with Food (MOCA), of equal prominence. For further study see the ebook ‘Food Safety, Mandatory Rules and Voluntary Standards ‘ https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/libri/sicurezza-alimentare-regole-cogenti-e-norme-volontarie-il-nuovo-libro-di-dario-dongo

(12) Marta Strinati. Food contact materials, reform-slug slips again. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 17.2.20, https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/imballaggi/materiali-a-contatto-con-gli-alimenti-la-riforma-lumaca-slitta-ancora

(13) See CDC(Center for Disease Control and Prevention, USA). Healthcare-associated infections. Pseudomonas aeruginosa. https://www.cdc.gov/hai/organisms/pseudomonas.html

(14) IRCCS Humanitas. Encyclopedia. Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection. https://www.humanitas.it/enciclopedia/infezioni/infezione-da-pseudomonas-aeruginosa/

(15) Italy itself is the top consumer of bottled water in the EU, with 200 liters/year per capita (2019 data. 118 liters the European average)