The Sardinian public water operator Abbanoa (Italy) has launched a social water emergency bonus initiative to offer a tariff reimbursement in favour of households who are in a vulnerable socio-economic situation due to the covid-19 health emergency lockdown measures.

The Spanish public water operator of the city of Seville, EMASESA, has decided to allocate 1,4M € of 2021 budget to support around 10,000 households.

Acquedotto Pugliese (AQP) in collaboration with the association 'A hope for Cameroon' will finance the construction of three water wells in the Edea region in Cameroon.

The Committee of the Regions' Opinion on the Fitness check of the Water Framework Directive, Groundwater Directive, Environmental Quality Standards Directive and Floods Directive, adopted on 2 July 2020, highlights Aqua Publica Europea's Water Erasmus initiative as a best practice to support the implementation of EU water legislation and the improvement of water management.

On 4 August 2020, HAMBURG WASSER (Hamburg, Germany) presented a study focus on the drinking water habits of the citizens of Hamburg. The results obtained show that 42% of the citizens prefer tap water rather than bottled water (26%).

In our Spring 2020 newsletter, we talk about the new members, the members of Aqua Publica Europea response to the COVID-19 emergency, the water policy and the public water management.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and and Development (OECD) publishes its study 'Financing water supply, sanitation and flood protection: Challenges in EU Member States and Policy Options', conducted jointly with the European Commission.

On 2 June, Aqua Publica Europea co-hosted the UN Habitat's Global Water Operators Partnership Alliance (GWOPA) webinar “Emergency response, business continuity and resilience of utilities” on the response of water operators to COVID-19 emergency. The webinar gathered 152 participants from 45 countries.

Aqua Publica Europea and other water and sanitation utilities’ organisations call on European Institutions to give full support to water services in developing countries, as a key condition to fight the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide.