On 23 November 2018, Aqua Publica Europea participated in the high-level conference organised by our Spanish member EMASESA (the operator of Seville) in Madrid on 'The Human Right to Water and Tariffs in the Ecologic Transition'.

As the Spanish government is current working on reforming water governance, the State Secretary for the Environment Mr. Hugo Moran presented the overall objectives to increase transparency, participation, and sustainability in the water sector, and, in this framework, to works towards a more equal approach to the redistribution of the costs of water services. 

Throughout the day, water operators, local authorities, civil society representatives and politicians shared their perspectives on access to water and tariffs.

Aqua Publica provided insights on the debates taking place at European level, notably with regards to the revision of the Drinking Water Directive and illustrated the debate with concrete approaches developed by our members to reconcile financial and environmental sustainability with affordability. 

On this topic, you can also read our publication on water affordability here.