Directive (EU) 2020/2184: Revision of Drinking Water Quality Standards in EU

The Directive (EU) 2020/2184, adopted on December 16, 2020, marks a pivotal change in the management of drinking water across EU. It replaces the 1998 directive (directive 98/83/EC) and aims to ensure universal access to safe and high-quality drinking water while enhancing transparency, monitoring, and risk management. This regulatory text has significant implications for water suppliers, industries manufacturing materials in contact with drinking water, as well as all stakeholders across the sector.

In this article, we will explore the key objectives, new requirements, and essential details of this directive to help you understand its impact on water management practices. We will also provide a brief introduction to the positive lists, which we will explore in detail in a next article.

The revision of the Drinking Water Directive (DWD) is part of the European Union's strong commitment to protecting public health and the environment by ensuring access to clean and safe drinking water. Originally adopted in 1998 and thoroughly revised in December 2020, the Directive was updated to reflect scientific advances and address emerging pollutants such as endocrine disruptors and microplastics. This revision was also a direct response to the "Right2Water" European Citizens' Initiative, emphasizing citizens' right to access high-quality drinking water.

The revised DWD (Directive (EU) 2020/2184) entered into force on January 12, 2021, requiring Member States to transpose its provisions into national legislation by January 2023. Its overarching goal is to ensure that all EU citizens benefit from some of the highest drinking water standards in the world, while promoting sustainable water management and enhancing consumer confidence in tap water.

1. Key Objectives of revised DWD

The main objective of this directive is to protect public health while improving the quality of drinking water across the European Union. To achieve this, the directive sets several specific goals:

• Public Health Protection: Drinking water must be free from chemical and microbiological contaminants that could harm health.

• Improved Access to Drinking Water: The directive aims to ensure universal access to safe and affordable drinking water.

• Enhanced Monitoring: It establishes stricter monitoring of water quality and mechanisms for risk assessment.

• Sustainable Water Management: The directive includes measures to protect water resources against the impacts of climate change and other environmental pressures.

2. New Drinking Water Quality Parameters and the Watch List Mechanism

The revised DWD represents a substantial evolution in the EU regulatory framework for drinking water, introducing updated quality parameters and a watch list mechanism to ensure a high level of health protection in light of emerging environmental challenges.

In accordance with Article 5, Member States are required to adopt and comply with the parametric values established in Annex I, which encompass microbiological, chemical, and indicator parameters. This revision integrates the most recent scientific findings and recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO), leading to the inclusion of new chemical substances such as Bisphenol A, PFAS (Total and Sum) and Chlorate. These additions reflect growing concerns about endocrine disruptors, pharmaceutical residues, microplastics, and other persistent organic pollutants, thereby reinforcing the long-term safety of drinking water across the European Union.

Complementing these static standards, the Directive introduces a dynamic watch list mechanism, established under Article 13. This tool is used to proactively monitor emerging substances of concern that are not yet subject to mandatory regulatory limits but may pose a risk to human health. The European Commission is mandated to establish and periodically update this list based on scientific evidence and data provided by Member States. The first version of the watch list includes, among others, 17-β-estradiol and nonylphenol, both recognized as endocrine-disrupting chemicals.

3. Risk-Based Approach and Supply System Management

The directive strengthens water quality monitoring and requires a complete risk-based approach to water safety (Article 7). This approach is implemented in line with the Water Safety Plan (WSP) approach developed by the World Health Organization (WHO). Member States must ensure the implementation of this comprehensive risk-based approach.

WSPs are proactive risk assessment and risk management approaches recognized as the most reliable way to manage drinking-water supplies for public health protection. This approach is built on a preventive safety planning approach and relies on the multiple-barrier approach. The EU risk framework requires three components of assessment: catchment risk (Article 8), supply system risk (Article 9), and domestic distribution system risk (Article 10). Specifically, WSPs, applied through this framework, include:

• Risk Identification: Water suppliers carrying out the risk assessment of the supply system  must identify the hazards (biological, chemical, physical, or radiological agents) and hazardous events in the supply system. This assessment must take into consideration risks stemming from climate change, leakages and leaking pipes. The identification also covers specific pollutants relevant for the catchment areas.

  
  

• Risk Assessment, Validation, and Management: Once risks are identified, specific strategies must be implemented to mitigate them. This involves systematically determining the risk score (product of likelihood and severity) and risk level. For existing measures, this requires validating the effectiveness of existing control measures in controlling the hazardous event. Based on the outcome, control measures are defined and implemented for the prevention and mitigation of risks identified in the supply system. This also involves implementing a supply-specific operational monitoring program (article 13) to ensure control measures function as intended.

  
  

• Emergency Procedures and Corrective Actions: The WSP framework includes developing Emergency Response Plans (ERPs) for serious situations that require immediate, extensive action for which there is no standard operating procedure. In the event of non-compliance with parametric values that constitute a potential danger to human health, immediate remedial action (article 14) must be taken, including prohibiting or restricting the water supply.

This approach not only ensures immediate protection but also contributes to the long-term resilience of drinking water supply systems.

4. Materials in Contact with Drinking Water (Articles 10 and 11)

A significant innovation introduced by the directive concerns materials in contact with drinking water. To prevent harmful substances from leaching into drinking water, the directive sets minimum requirements for these materials and establishes a harmonized framework across the EU. On April 23, 2024, the European Commission published a comprehensive set of legal acts in the Official Journal of the European Union, including three implementing decisions (EU 2024/365, EU 2024/367, EU 2024/368) and three delegated regulations (EU 2024/369, EU 2024/370, EU 2024/371).

These new measures introduce:

• A Positive List of authorized starting substances, compositions, and constituents used in materials that encounter drinking water.

• Testing Methodologies and harmonized European Positive Lists to ensure consistent safety evaluations.

• A Procedure for Adding New Substances to the Positive List (Regulation (EU) 2024/369).

• Conformity Assessment Procedures and rules for designating assessment bodies (Regulation (EU) 2024/370).

• Harmonized Specifications for Product Marking, ensuring transparency and traceability (Regulation (EU) 2024/371).

These regulations, which came into force on May 15, 2024, will generally apply from December 31, 2026. They cover materials used in new installations for water abstraction, treatment, storage, and distribution, as well as those used in repair works. Through these measures, the EU has established a unified, science-based approach to ensuring the safety and quality of drinking water from source to tap, further strengthening public health protection and supporting the free movement of compliant materials and products across the internal market.

 

5. Consumer Information Access

A crucial aspect of this directive is transparency. Consumers must be regularly informed about the quality of the water they consume. The results of water quality analyses should be easily accessible and understandable, such as through mobile apps or water bills. Additionally, water suppliers must inform consumers about corrective measures in the event of contamination, potential health risks, and actions taken to ensure water quality. This transparency aims to build consumer trust in tap water, encouraging its use over bottled water.

Conclusion

Directive (EU) 2020/2184 represents a major advancement in ensuring high-quality drinking water across the European Union. It imposes new safety standards, strengthens water quality monitoring, and introduces strict requirements for materials used in drinking water infrastructures. Furthermore, it adopts a risk-based approach in line with the Water Safety Plans (WSPs), supporting proactive risk management. The emphasis on transparency and consumer trust in tap water is also key.

In a future article, we will explore in greater detail the European Positive Lists (EUPL), which play a crucial role in regulating materials in contact with drinking water. Stay tuned!

Bibliography

• Directive (EU) 2020/2184: Directive (EU) 2020/2184 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2020 on the quality of water intended for human consumption (recast), OJ L 435, 23.12.2020, pp. 1–62. Available on: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2020/2184/oj (accessed on 19/11/2025).

  
  

• Water safety plan manual: World Health Organization, Water safety plan manual: step-by-step risk management for drinking-water suppliers [online], second edition, 2023, ISBN 978-92-4-006769-1. Available on: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240067691 (accessed on 19/11/2025).