Who we are

Aqua Publica Europea (APE) is the European Association of Public Water Operators. It unites publicly owned water and sanitation services and other stakeholders working to promote public water management at both European and international level. APE is an operator-led association that looks for efficient solutions that serve public interests rather than corporate ones.

Our values

What we stand for

Water is the source of life and must be managed responsibly.

As non-profit organisations, the members of Aqua Publica Europea are committed to providing a high-quality service managed in an efficient, accountable, and sustainable way.

Our common vision is laid down in the association’s Founding Charter, and is based on four main principles :

Water must be managed in a socially responsible way to ensure everyone has a fair share, and to secure its conservation for the benefit of future generations.
The management of water as an essential resource belongs in the public domain. Water management must be organised and supervised by the public authority under the responsibility of elected representatives at all local levels.
All revenues obtained need to be reinvested in the water cycle. Public authorities must have the power to establish public water operators responsible for managing water services; these public operators must operate under the principles of efficiency and accountability.
Public-public cooperation as a tool for capacity building must be supported by public institutions and international donors.

What we do

We work to

Address common water-related challenges and contribute to the realisation of European environmental and societal objectives Our priorities
Facilitate the exchange of best practices and know-how among our members Exchange
Bring the voice of public water operators into EU and international policy-making Policies

Governance

The Secretariat is based in Brussels. It is in charge of running the day-to-day activities of the association and for the implementation of its strategy.

The General Assembly is the main decision-making body of APE and is composed of all members of APE. It is convened at least once a year.

The Management Board represents the association at all institutional levels and is responsible for steering the work of the association.