The quality and safety of drinking water have always been topics of particular relevance<\/strong>\u00a0to the community, with their importance continuously increasing due to the growing awareness of the value of water resources and the need to optimize their use.<\/p>\n\n For this reason, the legislative framework<\/strong>\u00a0regulating these aspects is an\u00a0essential tool to ensure<\/strong>, as indicated by the World Health Organization, not only the maintenance of an\u00a0adequate quality level but also the progressive improvement of the chemical and microbiological characteristics of the water supplied to users.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Despite the importance of these ever-evolving public interest topics, the current community-wide standard (Directive 98\/83\/EC) was over twenty years old. Finally, on December 15, 2020, the European Parliament and Council reached an agreement on revising the previous directive,<\/strong>\u00a0whose first draft proposal was presented in 2018.<\/p>\n\n \u201cTwenty years after the entry into force of the first drinking water directive, it is time to update and tighten the threshold for some contaminants, such as lead. For the European Parliament, it was of utmost importance that the new directive makes our drinking water even safer and takes new pollutants into account. I therefore welcome the provisions of the directive for microplastics and endocrine disruptors such as bisphenol A,\u201d said rapporteur Christophe Hansen (EPP, LU).\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The new European directive (Drinking Water Directive \u2013 DWD) is not merely aimed at updating existing regulations but\u00a0will become the reference standard for drinking water quality for all European Union countries.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n The primary objective<\/strong>\u00a0of the DWD is to build a harmonized and shared framework among the various countries to pursue common goals such as:<\/p>\n\n The new objectives within the new European directive respond to the strong demand from over 1.8 million citizens who signed\u00a0\u201cRight2Water,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0the first collective initiative of European citizens supporting improved access to drinking water. Member states will have two years to make the necessary changes to national regulations to align with the new directive.<\/p>\n\n Among the innovations introduced by the DWD, the inclusion of\u00a0monitoring new chemical and microbiological parameters is particularly significant.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n In the first category, many of the \u201cnew entries\u201d are represented by so-called emerging pollutants, including endocrine disruptors, PFAS, and microplastics. The range of microbiological indicators to be monitored is also expanded, including enterococci,\u00a0Clostridium perfringens<\/em>, and somatic coliphages.\u00a0The overall goal is to further improve the quality of water supplied to users, encouraging its consumption.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Sempre nell\u2019ottica della crescente tutela della salute del cittadino, la nuova DWD estende il proprio campo di azione anche all\u2019interno degli edifici, a livello dei quali prescrive il monitoraggio di piombo e di Legionella<\/em><\/strong>, un patogeno acquicolo della cui prevenzione Sanipur si occupa ormai da decenni (Scopri di pi\u00f9<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n According to the annual ISS report,\u00a0Legionella<\/em>\u00a0is responsible for dangerous lung infections (legionellosis), whose incidence seems to be constantly increasing.<\/strong>\u00a0These bacteria represent the primary waterborne disease factor in the European Union and are mainly transmitted by water vapor:<\/strong>\u00a0not only taps, showers, and anything directly connected to hot water networks, but also whirlpools, outdoor misters, and evaporative towers can be dangerous sources of Legionella spread.<\/p>\n\n Until the introduction of the new directive,\u00a0Legionella<\/em>\u00a0monitoring was mandatory only for healthcare facilities, hotels, and public offices. More generally, as\u00a0Legionella<\/em>\u00a0is classified as a class 2 biological agent,\u00a0the associated risk assessment and consequent monitoring were already mandatory in workplaces, as per Legislative Decree 81\/2008 to protect workers\u2019 health. The advent of the new DWD extends<\/strong>\u00a0this level of attention to Legionella to any building served by\u00a0drinking water distribution networks.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n
What is the DWD?
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What are the main innovations among new indicators and stricter limits?
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