Overview
High-quality, safe and sufficient drinking water is essential for public health and well-being. Besides consumption, we also use it for many other purposes, such as washing, cleaning, hygiene, or watering our plants.
Most people living in the EU already enjoy very good access to high-quality drinking water, thanks in part to over 30 years of EU policy on drinking water quality.
This policy ensures that water intended for human consumption can be consumed safely, leading to a high level of health protection.
Background
The recast Drinking Water Directive (Directive (EU) 2020/2184) is the EU’s primary legal framework for safeguarding public health from water contamination. It is an update to the 1998 Drinking Water Directive (98/83/EC) and applies to all water used for domestic purposes and food production across the EU, whether supplied from a tap, tanker, or bottle.
It fundamentally shifts water governance by introducing a proactive, risk-based monitoring model to catch and restrict emerging 21st-century pollutants, like PFAS and microplastics, before they enter the supply chain.
Why do we have this law?
The directive was driven by the need to modernise 20th-century standards and is a response to the Right2Water campaign: the first successful European Citizens’ Initiative, which gathered 1.8 million signatures to demand water be recognised as a fundamental human right.
An EU evaluation revealed that the legacy 1998 rules relied on reactive testing and left nearly two million Europeans without reliable water access.
Legally grounded in Article 192(1) of the TFEU and the Precautionary Principle, the law sets safety thresholds that are often stricter than WHO guidelines while mandating improved water access for vulnerable and marginalised groups.
Furthermore, the directive aligns with the EU's Circular Economy and Plastics Strategy goals. It requires countries to promote tap water to slash single-use plastic waste, and introduces Article 11 to create a unified 'one standard – one test – one market' framework for piping materials to eliminate market trade barriers and curb network leakages.
Legislation: Recast Drinking Water Directive (Directive (EU) 2020/2184)
Status: In force since 12 January 2021
Application date: January 12, 2023. Additional technical milestones roll out in phases, including unified material standards at the end of 2026 and final system risk assessments by January 2029.