Do EU Water Rules Lead to Unnecessary UK Carbon Emissions?

According to The Institution of Mechanical Engineers’ report, Catchment Management in the Water Industry, the natural water quality, particularly in UK rivers, has been improved by the EU Water Framework Directive, but this has been done via intensive energy and chemical treatments, which are massively damaging to the environment.

The Institute has therefore called for an urgent review of the European Union (EU) water legislation, including its unreasonable waste water quality demands which it says are driving up energy and chemical use and greenhouse gas emissions.

Dr Jenifer Baxter, Head of Energy and Environment at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, said: “EU water regulation is aimed at improving the environment but the excessively stringent, universal rules have led to practices which do the very opposite. Currently, the negative side-effects of this directive to the environment may outweigh the benefits. The UN climate change talks will hopefully help put providing clean water and sanitation for all and driving down world emissions in the fore-front of political decision making; and revising the EU Water Framework Directive could be a relatively straight-forward way to help. A ‘one size fits all’ single European vision to improve water quality is neither effective, efficient nor appropriate. We need an urgent review to enable a more holistic approach to water management.”