On 17 February 2026, the European Council formally adopted the Water Package. In addition to the Environmental Quality Standards Directive, the Water Framework Directive and the Groundwater Directive will also be amended. The agw has been closely monitoring the process in recent years.
The amendments to the EQS Directive in particular will have a major impact on future water management in Europe. In particular, the inclusion of numerous active pharmaceutical ingredients in the list of priority substances of the EQS Directive, some of which have very low limit values, such as diclofenac of just 0.04 µg/L, will have consequences for our members' wastewater treatment plants and entail major investments.
The final vote on the directive is expected to take place in the European Parliament at the end of March. It must then be implemented in the member states by 21 December 2027. Compliance with the new standards for surface water and groundwater must be achieved by 2039; the deadline for substances with revised and stricter environmental quality standards in surface water is 2033.
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