Prof Pedro Arrojo-Agudo was appointed as the new UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation in November 2020. Aqua Publica had the opportunity to interview him about his mandate priorities and so how public water operators can contribute. The interview is presented in a format of five episodes.

On World Water Day, the members of Aqua Publica Europea celebrated the "value of water" through different events and activities across Europe.

In our Spring 2021 newsletter, we talk about World Water Day 2021, we welcome two new members, we introduce our new Webinar series and public water operators' activities.

World Water Day is approaching and public water operators are joining this year's campaign on the value of water. Furthermore, the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation and UN-Water has raised this question "what does water means to you?"

On 26 February 2021, Aqua Publica Europea organised a webinar on the opportunities for the water sector in the new EU research and innovation programme Horizon Europe, with Dr Panagiotis Balabanis, Head of Water Sector at Directorate-General for Research & Innovation of the European Commission and Mattia Ceracchi, Head of EU Liaison Office of APRE – Italian Agency for the Promotion of European Research.

Aqua Publica Europea, the European association of public water operators, had co-signed, with the European Public Services Union (EPSU), a letter to European Commissioners Virginijus Sinkevičius (Environment, Oceans and Fisheries) and Nicolas Smit (Jobs and Social Rights) calling for concrete proposals for the realisation of the rights to water and sanitation through a rights-based approach. , calling for concrete proposals for the realisation of the rights to water and sanitation through a rights-based approach.