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NEWSLETTER | Spring 2022

In our Spring 2022 newsletter, we talk about World Water Day 2022 and the situation in Ukraine, we welcome one new member, we invite you to our next Webinar on water security and you will find our last position papers.

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| SPOTLIGHT

Statement | Essential water services must be ensured in Ukraine and water infrastructures shielded from attacks
 

On the occasion of World Water Day 2022, Aqua Publica Europea published a statement that expresses solidarity with Ukrainian People, reminds that access to water and sanitation are human rights, and recalls that the voluntary damaging of critical water infrastructures during armed conflicts is prohibited by international conventions.

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Support to Ukrainian people and to the water sector

Several members of Aqua Publica Europea have committed to providing both humanitarian aid to the Ukrainian people and support to Ukrainian utilities. To understand current needs, Aqua Publica Europea has held exchanges with the Ukrainian Association of Water Supply and Sewerage Enterprises (Ukrvodokanalekologiya). For stakeholders and suppliers interested to make donations, the list of items/equipment that Ukrainian utilities need urgently to repair damaged facilities and, in general, ensure essential services is available on our website. Systems are put in place to guarantee the delivery of donations where needed (information with the Ukrainian association).

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| NEW MEMBERS

Aqua Publica Europea welcomes Lario Reti as a new member

Lario Reti – the water operator of the province of Lecco, northern Italy – became Aqua Publica Europea’s newest member. The public water operator manages the integrated water services for all 87 Municipalities of the Province, serving a population of 330.000 inhabitants. Welcome, Lario Reti!

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| WATER ERASMUS

Public water operators will share their approaches to protect water infrastructure against malicious external threats

Aqua Publica Europea and Aguas de Gaia, the public water operator from Vila Nova de Gaia (Portugal) are organising the online Water Erasmus Technical Workshop “How to protect critical infrastructure from external threats” on 7 April 2022. The session will look at the protection of critical water infrastructures from hostile attacks against both physical and IT infrastructures while maintaining transparency towards the public. The topic will be explored from different angles thanks to the contributions of experts from the European Commission, the Portuguese Security Intelligence Service and an expert from the European Commission group on Reference Network for Critical Infrastructure Protection. To provide concrete perspectives, APE members, Société Wallonne des Eaux (Wallonia, Belgium) and Eau de Paris (Paris, France) will present their approaches to ensure water security in their local territories.

  • Registrations are reserved for current members of Aqua Publica Europea. If you are a representative of a public water operator not a member of Aqua Publica Europea and you would like to participate, please contact our Secretariat.

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  • Coming soon: Water Erasmus Technical Workshop on “The role of public water operators in securing clean bathing water” co-organised by Aqua Publica Europea and BCASA (Barcelona, Spain) on 12 May 2022. For more information, please contact us.

APE experts exchange on the reduction of pollution in the context of the Urban Wastewater Treatment and Sludge Directives

As part of our Water Erasmus exchange activities, experts from Aqua Publica’s members met in February to share approaches and experiences on the issue of industrial pollution prevention, tracking and tracing, as well as on the application of the polluter-pays principle, which are expected to be relevant topics in the European Commission’s forthcoming proposal for the revision of the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive.


| POSITIONING

Water and Energy in the context of Fit-for-55

Aqua Publica Europea welcomes the European Commission’s Fit-for-55 Package and the proposal to set the EU on the path to climate neutrality. Considering the interconnection between water and energy and the potential of public water and wastewater operators to play a key role in this transition, Aqua Publica highlights in its new position paper some key elements for consideration in the discussions related to the Fit-for-55 proposals.

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EU Bathing Water Directive

In response to the European Commission’s public consultation on the EU Bathing Water Directive 2006/7/EC, Aqua Publica Europea published a new position paper, based on the experience of public water operators that are tasked by their municipalities to ensure the management of bathing waters or that contribute to the quality of bathing water through wastewater treatment. Aqua Publica suggests a set of guiding principles for the review of the Bathing Water Directive to face new challenges.

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