{"id":11628,"date":"2026-05-10T14:40:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-10T14:40:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.agw-nw.de\/?p=11628"},"modified":"2026-05-22T09:58:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T09:58:13","slug":"water-package","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.agw-nw.de\/en\/wasserpaket\/","title":{"rendered":"Water package officially enters into force"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The water package officially came into force on 10.05.2026. This followed its final approval in the EU Parliament at the end of March 2026.<\/p>

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.<\/p>

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 \u00b5g\/L, will have consequences for our members' wastewater treatment plants and entail major investments.<\/p>

The directive must be transposed by the Member States by 21 December 2027. Compliance with the new surface water and groundwater standards must be achieved by 2039, while the deadline for substances with revised and stricter environmental quality standards in surface water expires in 2033.<\/p>

Further information:<\/p>