2023-09-11 13:14:00
Obtaining drinking water from the Meuse is becoming increasingly difficult. The river water becomes dirtier due to discharges of harmful substances and its dilution decreases due to more frequent low water. To keep the drinking water of 7 million people at the good level they are used to, more and more purification is required.
In fact, the opposite should happen, says director Maarten van der Ploeg of Riwa Maas, the partnership of four drinking water companies from the Netherlands and two from Belgium that draw from the Meuse.
“The drinking water in the Netherlands and Flanders is of very good quality and we would like to keep it that way,” says Van der Ploeg. “We know that the quality of the surface water is not going well, and that there is less dilution because less water flows through the Meuse as a result of climate change. In addition, there is more insight into the harmful effect of substances that end up in the water.”
No discharge permit
But the drinking water companies do not have enough insight into industrial discharges, according to the recently published annual report for 2022 from Riwa Maas. “We don’t know which companies discharge where and what they discharge,” Van der Ploeg explains. “And we now measure substances that are harmful or threatening to drinking water, but that are not included in permits.”
This makes combating pollution difficult. The drinking water companies believe that no discharge permit should be issued for substances that are ‘hazardous to drinking water’. If water quality improves, ‘simple purification’ would suffice.
Van der Ploeg points out that the so-called Water Framework Directive, which must be complied with in the European Union from 2027, sets strict requirements for water quality. “This could mean that companies have to be shut down because they discharge substances that deteriorate quality. It is a collective interest. Polluted water is not only suitable for drinking water, but also for agriculture and industry.”
Total overview is missing
The licensing is still inadequate, says Riwa Maas. On the recommendation of the Van Aartsen committee, some improvements have been made to licensing, supervision and enforcement since 2021, says Van der Ploeg. “But there is still no complete overview of how many companies discharge. Companies must know what they are discharging and licensing authorities must know what they are permitting.”
A new standard that RIVM has developed can help with this. This PMT index contains the properties of persistent, mobile and toxic substances that do not or hardly break down, are easily soluble and spread quickly and are toxic, and that are difficult to purify from the water. “Permit providers can use this to see which substances have these properties and thus better decide whether a company will receive a permit or not,” Van der Ploeg explains. “Pfas are an example of substances that are difficult to purify. Through advancing insight, we know that they are more harmful than initially thought. Today it’s pfas, tomorrow something else. Should drinking water companies solve this problem?”
Evides: Costs should be borne by the polluter, not by drinking water users
“As the sources for making drinking water become increasingly poor, drinking water companies are wrongly used for water purification,” says spokesperson Ingrid van Gelderen of Evides, which supplies tap water in Rotterdam, among others. “The costs belong to the producer and user of that product, not to all drinking water customers. The amount of harmful substances in surface water and therefore also in the Meuse must be reduced. The pollution of the source must stop: what doesn’t come in, doesn’t have to come out.”
If water quality improves, in accordance with agreements laid down in the Water Framework Directive, ‘simple purification’ would suffice. But the practice is different. For example, Evides has added Activated Carbon Filtration to the purification process to remove pesticides. “A recent report from the Council for the Environment and Infrastructure shows that the goals of the Water Framework Directive will only be achieved through greater urgency, tightened policy and far-reaching measures,” says Van Gelderen. “So our question is: when will governments, industry and agriculture ensure that surface water and groundwater sources used to produce drinking water are sufficiently clean?”
Also read:
Rotterdam drinks from the Maas: ‘The water quality is deteriorating’
Right under the Van Brienenoord Bridge, Evides produces drinking water for Rotterdam, originating from the Maas. Director Annette Ottolini sees the quality of the Meuse water deteriorating.
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