The new law defines minimum quality standards for reclaimed water to be used for agricultural irrigation.
It also sets out obligations for production, distribution and storage operators, as well as risk management measures.
Reclaimed water (i.e. urban wastewater that has been treated in a reclamation plant) will be used to irrigate food crops, processed food crops and non-food crops.
The Commission will have to assess within five years whether reclaimed water can be used in other ways.
“We must move towards a circular economy, also in the way we use and re-use water”, said rapporteur Simona Bonafè (S&D, IT).
“We could potentially reuse 6.6 billion cubic metres of water by 2025, compared to the current 1.1 billion cubic metres per year.
The draft legislation was adopted with 588 votes to 23 and 66 abstentions.
Negotiations with EU ministers will start after Council sets its own position.
Ensuring that treated wastewater is more broadly reused could limit extraction from water bodies and groundwater.
Water over-abstraction, in particular for agricultural irrigation, but also for industrial use and urban development, is one of the main threats to the EU water environment.

The study, which comes from the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC), says that the effects of climate change will be combined with an ever-increasing number of people to trigger intense competition for increasingly scarce resources.
Future water wars cannot be neglected.Approximately,Eight hundred million people are lacking clean drinking water around the globe.
It had a population of 210 million now.The country is grappling with the same sorts of growing pains that its neighbour, India, is experiencing.
The year 2025 has been marked as the year when Pakistan — if it doesn’t mend its ways soon — will turn from a “water-stressed” country to a “water-scarce” country.
Glacier melting is responsible for roughly half of the water flowing in the Indus, making the situation worse.
The health of the Himalayas in the face of the Earth’s changing climate is a real, and growing, concern.
“Given the rapid melting of the Himalayan glaciers that feed the Indus River… and growing tensions with upriver archenemy India about use of the river’s tributaries, it’s unlikely that Pakistani food production will long keep pace with the growing population,” Steven Solomon ,Writer Of Water comprising the epic struggle for wealth,power, and civilisation.He also told that Middle East would be the first region to confront the issue and which actually apparent as of now Yemen,wrote in The New York Times.
If both countries collaborated on a series of giant, large-scale dams that were built to rotate water use to different regions, tensions could be reduced.More than 700 billion gallons of water are pulled from the Indus River every year to grow this cotton.
“The problem with Pakistan’s economy is that most of the major industries use a ton of water—textiles, sugar, wheat—and there’s a tremendous amount of water that’s not only used, but wasted.” Water crisis in Pakistan and overall the world has become adverse than never before.All this should serve as a clarion call to our leaders who are busy in power politics and political squabbling.
Dr. Zeeshan Khan is a medical doctor, enthusiast writer, educationist, Human Rights Defender, Blogger, certified trainer and Poet.

Greece is among the countries predicted to face increased water shortages before the end of the century, according to a study by the European Commission’s Joint Research Center (JRC).
The consequences are mainly attributed to climate change (80 to 90 percent) and secondly to other factors, such as land and water use (10 to 20 percent).
The growing drought in the European South will lead to an increased shortage of water and reduced water supplies for hydroelectric plants in Mediterranean countries such as Greece.
For Greece – in the case of an increase in temperature by two degrees – an annual reduction of 2 percent is expected in the water supply of hydroelectric plants, while for northern Europe an increase of about 13 percent is expected.
However, if the temperature increases by more than 2 degrees, by the end of the century the reduction in hydroelectric plants could reach 10 percent.
Greece and Cyprus are the two countries that will be affected the most by a two-degree rise in temperature.
Water availability will be lower, with an increase of about 100 percent in the water demand to water availability ratio.
The second scenario is that global warming will exceed two degrees Celsius and can even go up to four.
Although in the most optimistic scenario the consequences are expected to be less severe, yet there will still be more floods and more water scarcity to come.
In the good case scenario, in Mediterranean countries including Greece, the number of people expected to be affected by water scarcity by the end of the century will rise from 85 million today to 104 million.

MEMBERS OF THE European Parliament have voted to adopt new rules which aim to improve the quality of and access to drinking water as well as reduce plastic waste from water bottles.
Most people in the European Union have good access to high quality drinking water.
More than 98.5% of tests carried out on drinking water samples between 2011 and 2013 met EU standards, according to a 2016 report by the European Environment Agency.
On average, every person in the EU consumes up to 106 litres of bottled water every year.
Research by the European Commission has found that reducing the consumption of bottled water could help households in Europe save more than €600 million per year, and have a positive impact on the environment by reducing CO2 emissions and plastic waste.
This week, MEPs voted in favour of updating rules to increase consumer confidence and encourage the drinking of tap water.
Some 500,000 tonnes of plastic waste from the EU end up in the sea every year.
The new rules include: Tightening the maximum limits for certain pollutants such as lead (to be reduced by half), harmful bacteria, as well as introducing new caps for certain endocrine disruptors Member states to take measures to provide universal access to clean water in the EU and improve water access in cities and public places, by setting up free fountains where technically feasible and proportionate; they should also encourage tap water to be provided in restaurants, canteens and catering services for free or for a low service fee Member states should identify people without access, or with limited access to water, including vulnerable and marginalised groups, and assess ways to improve their access The rules also have to be negotiated with the Commission before they come into effect.
Dublin MEP Brian Hayes said the European Parliament has recognised that “consumers’ trust in drinking water from the tap needs to be restored”.
“These updated rules should impact positively on our drinking water standards in this country – providing monetary savings for consumers as well as assisting us to play our part in tackling plastic waste.”

New legislation aimed at improving consumers’ trust in drinking water from the tap will see maximum limits for certain pollutants such as lead, harmful bacteria tighten, while new caps for certain endocrine disruptors will be introduced.
The legislation also provides for the monitoring the levels of microplastics.
According to the European Commission lower consumption of bottled water could help EU households save more than €600 million per year.
This was part of the follow-up on their resolution on the citizens’ initiative Right2Water.
Nationalist MEP Francis Zammit Dimech remarked that it was imperative to improve water’s quality given that it was one of the most important element in a person’s life.
According to Zammit Dimech the updated directive on water would improve the water’s quality but also require more rigorous and secure methods of testing water.
Labour MEP Marlene Mizzi remarked that she backed the ambitious approach adopted by the European Parliament.
The MEP said that the directive adopted means higher quality standards and that the recommendations which emanate out of the reports on climate change and circular economy would be adopted.
Labour MEP Miriam Dalli argued that the Directive on Drinking Water was aimed at having a legal framework which would provide for improved standards for drinking water however there were still people without access to clean water.
The MEP who abstained from voting on the directive, remarked that there was no binding legislation on the Member States to provide clean potable water.

Researchers mapped the areas where future global conflict is most likely to break out as a result of climate change-fueled water shortages.
Researchers said the areas most likely to be hit by ‘hydro-political’ issues are those with already stressed water basins.
They believe water-related conflict or cooperation is likely to develop in the next 50 to 100 years as a result of climate change and population growth.
‘Competition over limited water resources is one of the main concerns for the coming decades,’ the scientists explained.
First, we wanted to highlight the factors which lead to either political cooperation or tensions in transboundary river basins,’ Fabio Farinosi, the lead author of the study, said in a statement.
‘And second, we wanted to map and monitor the likelihood of these kinds of interactions over space and time and under changing socio-economic conditions.’
They then studied the links with freshwater ability, climate stress, human pressure on water resources and socio-economic conditions.
Researchers identified five primary hotspots, including the Nile, Ganges-Brahmaputra, Indus, Tigris-Euphrates and Colorado rivers – all of which are areas with ‘already water stressed basins.’
However, not every hotspot for water scarcity will be rife with conflict.
According to the landmark report from the International Panel on Climate Change, we will need to close down hundreds of coal-fired power stations and rapidly switch to using renewable energy.

Friends of the Irish Environment said while the EPA claimed 99.2% compliance with chemical standards, their analysis showed 598,951 consumers were being supplied with drinking water over the recommended World Health Organisation and European Commission’s recommended limits for trihalomethanes (THMs).
THMs are formed when organic matter, such as suspended peat sediment, are treated with chlorine at water treatment plants.
THMs are harmful to human health and include known carcinogens like chloroform.
They are ingested by drinking, but can be inhaled in the bath or shower, or when washing clothes and dishes.
Friends of the Irish Environment said its 2011 submission showed that 24 counties had supplies breaching EU and WHO THM limits, with 14 counties having supplies double the THM limit, and one water supply, Ring, in Co Waterford, recording THM levels nine times the WHO/EU limit.
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Friends of the Irish Environment’s findings also prompted a warning from US environmentalist Erin Brockovitch that people had a right to know.
For various reasons, the European Commission didn’t begin an infringement case against Ireland until last July and it outlined what needed to be done.
Irish Water previously contacted customers only if there was a problem with their drinking water that was likely to cause an immediate risk to health.
Houses and businesses in 16 counties on 55 water supply schemes will receive a detailed booklet outlining the issues with their water supply such as elevated THMs; inadequate barriers for cryptosporidium; poor turbidity removal; or the presence of low levels of pesticides.

Almost all of Western Europe experienced drought, a heat wave, or hot and dry conditions in July and August, with pastures from northern France to Ireland to areas east of Germany all recording growth close to the historical minimum.
Wheat and barley yields in the Baltic States, Scandinavia, United Kingdom and parts of Central Europe are all tracking at below average, while maize yields from France to Poland are also well down.
A presentation by the EU agricultural director general to the EU’s agriculture and rural development committee on August 30 said derogation, or easing of legislative restrictions, tied to greening rules had been enacted to allow fodder production on fallow land.
Also, EU farmers impacted by drought are eligible to apply for “de minimis aid” of up to €15,000 over three years, and can now also apply for funding to pay for up to 100pc of the cost of restoring agricultural production potential, such as reseeding pastures lost in the fierce summer conditions.
Last month, the EU agreed to allow some land fallowed as ecological focus areas (EFA) to be harvested, grazed or cut for hay or silage, and to be sown to winter crop.
EU administrators are also looking to minimise the use of force majeure being called on contracts which cannot be filled as a result of heat and drought.
The EU Commission has requested responses on the extent of drought impact from Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, and Northern Ireland.
Australian trade sources say a shortage of grain and fodder in Europe is likely to translate to strengthened demand for Australia canola, and may result in some sales of malting barley.
Overall, Northern Europe’s situation is seen as supportive of world grain prices.
Source: EU Commission Full Name: (First Name and Surname Required) – read our Comment Policy

About 20 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces have felt the brunt of the worst drought in the country’s history with millions of people affected and thousands of households displaced in search of water.
The country’s 2018 harvest is expected to be even lower; down from 4.2 million metric tons to 3.5 million metric tons, the UN said in a recent report.
KABUL: Sardar Wali had to wait three weeks for his turn to have a well dug by a drilling firm in Kabul, and after two weeks of drilling the only sign of water appeared 80 meters below the surface.
About 20 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces have been hit by the drought with millions of people affected.
With livestock dying and no crops, thousands of households have been displaced in search of water.
Thousands of cattle have perished, and canals and streams have dried out because of lack of snow fall and less rain this year.
Afghanistan’s northern region, considered its food basket, is also badly affected.
The Afghan government launched a $100 million appeal in mid-April for immediate livestock protection for an initial two months of fodder/feed support and an overall demand of $550 million for 10 months’ fodder/feed support throughout the 34 provinces of Afghanistan.
Many lack access to safe drinking water, shelter or adequate sanitation facilities and diseases such as diarrohea, as well as malnutrition, are widespread among drought-induced IDPs,” the UN report said.
Local authorities have begun emergency food and water distribution with the help of NGOs and the UN in some parts, aiming to prevent the flight of more locals.

War, corruption, and poverty have plagued Afghanistan for generations.
These have generally led to a myriad of exacerbating issues like a lack of healthcare infrastructure, education, and political unification.
Agriculture is Afghanistan’s economic foundation — according to the CIA World Factbook, it composes approximately 23% of the country’s GDP.
To contrast, agriculture makes up 0.9% of the United States’s GDP.
20 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces have felt the brunt of this drought, and millions of Afghan people have been devastated by its effects.
According to the European Commission Humanitarian Aid and Emergency Response Mechanism, Particularly hard hit are the provinces of Ghor and Badghis, who have generated displacement of over 9,000 households into Herat City, and approx.
The vast majority of these households remain unassisted, lacking access to safe drinking water, shelter or adequate sanitation facilities and food, and as a result, sinking into increased vulnerability; sinking into increasing levels of vulnerability and employing negative coping mechanisms such as skipping meals and using money lenders to feed their families.” Some countries are pitching in to help — the U.K. recently donated $13.1 million to The World Food Programme, who aims to provide aid in the areas worst affected by the drought.
They plan to reach and contribute to 1.4 million people, not only providing them with basic supplies but enabling them to have a more successful harvest next year.
A short-term fix may be welcome, but a more effective, long-term solution includes a level of sustainment that will last longer than just a few months.
This is particularly important not only for the families themselves, but to mitigate all the issues involved in mass-migration into major population centers.