Standards Development

Scope

(The scope shall precisely define the limits of the new field of technical activity. Scopes shall not repeat general aims and principles governing the work of the organization but shall indicate the specific area concerned.)

Standardization in the field of water management, water stewardship, water conservation, water reuse, and service-related concepts and processes for drinking water supply, wastewater, stormwater, and water efficiency management systems.

This includes activities required to achieve the goals of water supply, water conservation, wastewater and stormwater management, and reducing water usage.

Exclusions:

· Designing and constructing water supply and sanitation systems, or providing technical maintenance,

· Establishing normative targets or threshold values for service quality criteria,

· Developing methods for measuring water quality,

· Implementing water reuse in building design.

Purpose

Water is a worldwide challenge for the 21st century. Water is essential for human, animal, and plant life but also for the world economy, as a necessary resource for all activities and industries. Water is not just a commercial product, but also a common good and a limited resource. The unequal distribution of water resources creates numerous social, economic and environmental challenges. It is, also, under pressure from various sectors, such as agriculture, industry, tourism, transport, and energy. Each region of the world faces specific problems related to the availability of water, which can lead to tensions between communities, regions and even countries sharing cross-border water resources. Therefore, it is essential to support international initiatives to protect water in terms of both quality and quantity and for sustainable water management around the world.

Many parts of Europe are increasingly affected by water scarcity due to overexploitation and climate change (drought, fire, flood, etc.). At the same time, pollution is increasing pressure on this limited resource. The water policy of the European Union (EU) plays a crucial role in safeguarding the environment. The main objective is to ensure access to good quality water in sufficient quantities for all Europeans, economic sectors, and the environment, and to ensure the good status of all bodies of water across Europe. This is more and more difficult due to the pressure mentioned above, therefore adopting policies and establishing relevant standards to help mitigate and adapt to the different issues is of the highest importance.

In this context, most European countries are fully involved in international objectives like the Paris Agreement on Climate Change (2015), the 2030 agenda for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (2015), the United Nations Call for Action on Adaptation and Resilience (2019), and CEN members are engaged in the London Declaration of the ISO General Assembly to combat climate change through standards (2021). European qualified experts and companies from various European countries are well represented in the International Water Association (IWA) for a world in which water is wisely, sustainably, and equitably managed and UNESCO for Water Security and the World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP).

Moreover, the European water sector advocates a water-secure, sustainable, and resilient Europe, with the aim of building a Water-Smart Society, in support to the Water Resilience Initiative of the European Commission. This message was stated in particular by the multi-stakeholder platform Water Europe, the voice and promotor of waterrelated RTD and innovation in Europe.

Interregional environmental cooperation focused on river basins or marine waters has led to the creation of several macro-regional strategies in the EU, i.e., strategies to address common challenges faced by a defined geographical area such as Europe. Water resource management and the use of non-conventional water are global challenges. However, they require a European approach tailored to the specific needs of member states, as regulatory frameworks are progressively being established in several European countries. Bridging the gap with frontrunners and harmonizing practices across Europe would help create a more consistent and more effective framework for managing water resources and integrating non-conventional water solutions.

These specific needs and challenges in Europe have led to numerous initiatives with the European Commission and stakeholders in the water and environmental sector. This reflects Europe's strong commitment to addressing waterrelated challenges through structured frameworks and regulatory alignment. While not all such initiatives have a normative component, many pave the way for the future development of European standards. These initiatives include:

• Action plan to safeguard Europe's waters

• Right2Water

• Water Europe

• Water Academy

• Water4All (European research)

• European Water Association (EWA)

• Water Reuse Europe (WRE)

• International Office for Water – Europe cooperation

• Aqua Publica Europea – European association of public water operators

• European Union Water Management Associations (EUWMA)

• Solidarity Water Europe (SWE)

• European Pact for Water (EPfW)

• European project to better integrate water reuse solutions (Project coordinated by the International Office for Water)

• European Federation of national associations of water & wastewater services (EUREAU)

• European Water Movement (EWM)

• United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)

• European Union Water Initiative (EUWI)

• European Urban Initiative - Water Sensitive City (Call for partners until October 2024)

• Alliance for Water Stewardship Europe (AWS Europe)

• European Centre for Environment and Health (WHO-ECEH)

• Netherlands Water Partnership (NWP)

• Aqua-Valley platform water reuse and standardization

• Circular Water Economy - EC’EAU

• Young Water Professionals (YWP) - European Conference 2024

• NGOs call for new European Climate and Water Resilience Law

• World Wildlife Fund Europe (WWF-EU)

• European Rivers Network (ERN)

• Living Rivers Europe (LRE)

• ASTEE - Scientific and Technical Association for Water and the Environment

• Wetlands International European Association (WI-EA)

• European Scientific Association for Water and Health (ESAWH)

• European Water Law Network (EWLN)

• European Environmental Bureau (EEB)

• European Water Resilience Strategy - Call for Evidence

Building on these numerous initiatives and commitments, the European Commission has set up the necessary 3 structures to address expectations and challenges related to water management and its preservation. These initiatives are supported by the European Commission Directorate-General for the Environment (DG-ENV), which aims at protecting, preserving, and improving the environment for present and future generations, by sharing adaptation knowledge for a climate-resilient Europe. Additionally, the European Environment Agency (EEA) serves as Europe’s knowledge hub for environment, climate, and sustainability, providing targeted, relevant, and reliable information to support environmental policies and their implementation.

Since the 1980s, the European Commission has been able to put in place tools and directives relating to drinking water and measures for ecological management and water protection, as well as international cooperation in this area, such as the “Water Convention” (Helsinki, 1992). In 2012, the European Commission launched an action plan to Safeguard Europe’s Water Resources; a long-term strategy that aims to ensure the availability of a sufficient level of quality water. Then, the European Commission adopted a new EU Strategy on “Adaptation to Climate Change” (2021), setting out a path to prepare for the unavoidable impacts of climate change and become climate-resilient by 2050. This new plan builds on the 2013 Climate Change Adaptation Strategy of Europe, shifting the focus from understanding the problem to developing solutions, and from planning to implementation. The Strategy has four principal objectives: to make adaptation smarter, swifter, and more systemic, and to step up international action on adaptation to climate change.

There are European directives and regulations designed to preserve water sources and both freshwater and marine ecosystems, and to guarantee the cleanliness of drinking and bathing water, namely the European Water Framework Directive (WFD) and the European Drinking Water Directive (DWD). Underlining the necessary transition to a circular economy, the European Parliament has supported plans to promote water reuse for agricultural irrigation. As a first step, Parliament approved “Regulation 2020/741 on minimum requirements for water reuse” (2023), to ensure the long-term sustainable use of water.

Thereby, the imperative to take up the challenge of water management has given rise to numerous European actions and commitments by the EU and stakeholders, constantly progressing. All of them need the support of relevant European standards on water quality, but also on the management of this resource and its use, in order to provide relevant tools to support measurement, dimensioning, design, and management. More generally, there is a need to also consider water stewardship as environmentally sustainable with a circular economy aspect, socially equitable, and economically beneficial water use achieved through a stakeholder-inclusive European standardized process. These issues also need being considered in drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater systems and services. This involves considerations in terms of water supply and consumption, water asset management, governance of water services and watersheds, sharing water resources, performance indicators for water services, adaptations to climate change on water resources, water sobriety measures with water efficiency management systems for reducing water use, non-conventional water uses (for irrigation, urban areas, industrial needs), and smart water management.

For these reasons, it is proposed to create a technical standardization committee (CEN/TC) to deal specifically with this standardization programme and to consider the needs of European members.

Integration of emerging water challenges

The main water challenges are presented in the figure below: Please see draft for figure

While existing CEN Technical Committees—such as CEN/TC 164 (Water Supply) and CEN/TC 165 (Wastewater Engineering)—address critical aspects of water management, they do not comprehensively cover the emerging 4 challenges related to water resilience and sustainable use. The new CEN/TC would focus on integrated strategies for optimizing water resources, reducing withdrawals, enhancing reuse, and considering the impacts of climate change. By addressing these aspects, the new CEN/TC will ensure that European water systems are resilient, sustainable, and aligned with EU environmental and climate goals. It will support the implementation of EU directives and contribute to the development of practical, actionable standards that facilitate the transition towards sustainable water use and climate resilience.

The European standards developed by the new CEN Technical Committee (TC) would aim at developing:

• Advance dialogue among stakeholders, including users, responsible authorities, public or private operators, research institutions, and laboratories;

• A mutual understanding of responsibilities and tasks;

• Provision of methods and tools to define objectives and specifications, and to assess performance;

• Monitoring of performance for possible benchmarking among water utilities; and

• Design or construction specifications for drinking water, reuse water, wastewater, and stormwater systems and services.

In conclusion, creating a dedicated Technical Committee on water resilience and sustainable use in CEN level would bridge the gap in existing international or national standards, align them with European needs, and provide a practical framework for their implementation, helping Europe to achieve its sustainability goals and reaping the opportunity for our region to demonstrate leadership in water management.

About the origins of the proposal

AFNOR address the needs of key players in the water sector, particularly within FP2E, the Professional Federation of Water Companies (VEOLIA, SUEZ, SAUR…), through standardization. AFNOR maintain ongoing communication and collaboration with these important international stakeholders in water and sanitation services, supported by our partnership with FP2E, which brings together the main actors in the industry. These multinational groups bring valuable expertise and are engaged in advancing water conservation and water reuse. Their involvement positions 5 Europe to play a pivotal role in developing normative frameworks for these topics.

In June 2024, FP2E published 10 recommendations to make water an even greater European priority, ensuring alignment with the needs of local territories. These recommendations cover key aspects of water management, such as optimizing water consumption, ensuring universal access to drinking water across the European Union, promoting circular economy practices, and securing financial support for water services.

The proposed new CEN/TC directly aligns with and supports these core issues, offering a structured framework to address the challenges identified by FP2E and reinforcing Europe's commitment to sustainable water management. Many other French companies and institutions are involved in discussions and work in the context of water management and sobriety. Since 2023, France has adopted a “Water plan” at the national level to implement a series of measures aimed at redefining a water management policy to adapt it to the challenges of climate change. This ambitious plan requires normative work, which should be shared at the European level.