Regional Conference on Advancing Non Conventional Water Resources Management in the Mediterranean, 14-15 September 2011, Athens, Greece

1. REGIONAL CONFERENCE ON ADVANCING NON CONVENTIONAL WATER RESOURCES
(NCWR) MANAGEMENT IN THE MEDITERRANEAN, 14-15 SEPTEMBER 2011, ATHENS,
GREECE
NCWR : The EU Policy Framework and Experience
Michail Papadoyannakis
Marine Environment and Water Industry
Directorate General Environment
European Commission

2. The broad policy context
• The Communication on Water Scarcity and Droughts establishes a
« water hierarchy » giving priority to water savings and efficiency; new
water supply infrastructures should be envisaged only when other
options have been exhausted
• Draft Strategy for Water in the Mediterranean (SWM) also gives priority
to « demand side and planning management” and encourages
development of state of the art, environmentally sound NCWR
exploitation
• An EU Policy Review for water scarcity and droughts is envisaged for
2012, which will be part of the "Blue Print for Safeguarding European
Waters"
• The role of alternative water supply options will grow in the future due
to climate change and the reduction of water availability, so particular
attention should be paid to their implementation and the continuous
improvement of knowledge in this field
• Need to consider regional paricularities (Mediterranean one of the most
arid regions wordwide) within the EU and north-south specificities in the
Mediterranean (for example in the context of a future SWM)

3. Which NCWRs ?
• Desalination
• Wastewater reuse
• Rainwater harvesting and
• Groundwater recharge
Conditions for sustainable development of all of them in EU have been
examined in detail in
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/water/quantity/building_blocks_prev.ht
m#four_alt
• Overriding importance of local factors is highlighted
• In the Mediterranean, when saving possibilities and traditional water
sources are not sufficent, waste water reuse and desalination can be
components of the policy mix to meet current and future needs

4. Desalination
The EU experience
• Widely used(2008) : Spain (more than 700 plants, enough for 8 million
inhabitants); 750000m3/day in Italy; Cyprus two plants, plans to expand them
and build another four; (75% of supply requirement for
Nicosia/Larnaca/Famagusta); more than 45% of total water needs in Malta;
•Environmental impacts include : intensive use of energy, brine discharge,
intake pipes (impact on marine biodiversity, « entrainnment » of marine
organisms), land use, impact on groundwater, noise
•Advantages: reliable supply of water of satisfactory quality, regardless of
adverse weather conditions (drought)
•Issues : High cost, sensitivity to energy prices fluctuations (link with renewable
energy sources); need for ex-ante careful assessment of needs, environmental
assessment of impacts and cost-benefit analysis: water saving and efficient use
measures must be examined first exhaustively; « water hierarchy » and full cost
recovery (including internalization of environmental and societal costs and
benefits, whenever possible)

5. Wastewater Reuse
The EU experience
• MED-EUWI Wastewater Reuse Working Group assessed current (2007) knowledge and
experience on treated waste water reuse in the EU and Mediterranean countries in
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/water/water-urbanwaste/info/water_reuse.htm
•Widely used in Spain and to a lesser extent in Italy, Cyprus, Malta; interest increases
also in non-Mediterranean EU Member States such as Germany, UK, Belgium
•Risks include potential impact to groundwater and soil (enrichment in nitrates/heavy
metals, other substances potentially harmful to plants) and to human health (spread of
pathogenic germs)
•Benefits : positive contribution to fresh water balance (rechargement of aquifers,
substitution of use of fresh water), reduction of use of fertilisers, reduction of waste
water treatment costs (no advanced treatment necessary)
•Issues; feasibility/need for guidance/regulatory framework at EU wide level (existence
of national legislation in some EU countries for certain uses; realisation of benefits and
avoidance of risks highly depends on local circumstances and uses)

6. Relevant EU policy framework
• The Water Framework Directive (WFD) establishes principles like public
participation in water management decisions and (as of 2010) cost
recovery for water services, on the basis of economic analysis and cost-
effective combination of measures in respect of water uses
• A number of EU water-related directives require specific standards for
specific water uses; for example the Drinking Water Directive sets
requirements for the quality of surface water intended for abstraction of
drinking water in the Member States
• The Marine Strategy Framework Directive aims at good environmental
status of marine waters and the WFD aims at good ecological status of
coastal surface and ground waters – all these water bodies are likely to
be affected by NCWR, for example desalination effluents
• The Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive states that "treated
wastewater shall be reused whenever appropriate“; it does not cover
desalination effluents

7. Relevant EU policy framework
• The recently adopted Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) sets out the
main principles for the permitting and control of certain installations,
but not desalination or urban wastewater treatment activities; however,
this does not rule out any future revision of the way in which such
activities are permitted
• Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA); it covers certain water-and
treated wastewater related actions, but not desalination; it also covers
associated works, like water pipes (long-distance aqueducts). A review is
foreseen for 2012; including desalination in the scope is one of the
options currently under examination and was suggested by certain MS
(Cyprus, Malta, Estonia)
• Strategic Environmental Assessment : it covers plans and programmes
which are prepared for water management and energy and set the
framework for future projects. It can be used to appropriately assess the
needs and the alternatives at a higher (planning) level.
• Habitats Directive for the protection of natural habitats, depending on
location of the facility (e.g. desalination plant)

8. Relevant EU policy framework
• Desalination, due to its possible environmental impacts, current size and
growth potential, has been singled out to be monitored under the
Ecosystem Approach of the Barcelona Convention
• The Commission services take into account water hierarchy and cost
recovery when assessing requests for EU co-financing for project
proposals in the context of the EU cohesion policy
• National laws of some EU Member States go beyond the requirements
of the EU law, by regulating NCWR activities, either when transposing EU
legislation (for example CY and ES have included desalination in their
national EIA law) or by applying other standards (for example WHO
standards adopted by several Mediterranean EU countries on certain
uses of treated wastewater)

9. Concluding remarks
• Water saving and efficient water management should be given priority;
alternative supply options, in particular those involving additional
infrastructure, should be considered only when saving and efficiency
improvement options have been exhausted
• In some Mediterranean countries NCWR constitute an indispensable
contribution to adequate water supply
• In line with WFD, effective water pricing and recovery of costs from the
water users concerned will be increasingly implemented
• More in-depth assessment of benefits and risks of NCWR and due
consideration of local conditions is necessary before deciding whether
further aspoects of their management need to be regulated at EU level
• The draft Strategy for Water in the Mediterranean promotes the
conditional use of NCWR and the EU supports this approach; adoption of
the Strategy and of an Action Plan will allow project prioritisation in a
transparent and coherent manner

10. Thank you for your attention