Drinking Water
Ensuring access to safe, clean drinking water is one of the core foundations of modern society. Protecting human health depends not only on effective water treatment and distribution, but also on the safety and performance of the materials used throughout these systems. Pumps, as indispensable elements of water supply infrastructures, are especially crucial: without reliable and hygienic pump systems, the consistent delivery of drinking water simply would not be possible.
A fragmented starting point
For many years, Europe lacked a unified approach for evaluating materials in contact with drinking water. Under the former Drinking Water Directive 98/83/EC, Member States defined their own approval and testing conditions — resulting in more than 15 national systems, each with its own requirements and certification processes. Manufacturers faced duplicated testing, significant administrative burdens, and even barriers preventing products legally sold in one country from entering another. These inconsistencies challenged the internal market and slowed innovation across the water-technology sector.
European Drinking Water (EDW)
To address this situation, industry mobilized. In the 2010s, Europump joined forces with the valves, pipes and materials sectors to advocate a harmonised framework across the EU. This cooperation led to the creation of European Drinking Water (EDW), which brings together more than 30 industry associations as the central platform for manufacturers and suppliers in drinking water applications. Its mission: eliminate national divergences, establish common EU-wide test methods, and ensure that a single approval is recognised throughout Europe.
The 2020 Directive and Article 11
A major breakthrough came with the Drinking Water Directive (EU) 2020/2184, whose Article 11 provides the legal basis for an EU-wide system of minimum hygiene requirements for materials in contact with drinking water — an aligned framework that protects public health while ensuring a functioning internal market.
Europump supported EDW in preparing a practical guide for complying with these requirements; the guide and its supporting documents can be downloaded from the EDW website.
Europump's role today
Europump plays an essential role in making this system fully operational despite the many challenges in the Directive and its secondary legislation. Through EDW, the Europump Technical Commission works on three fronts: advocating clear and workable legal texts, contributing to practical guidance for industry and conformity bodies, and coordinating transition efforts across Member States.
By supporting a harmonised, science-based approach, Europump helps safeguard public health, strengthen regulatory consistency, and ensure that Europe's pump industry can continue to deliver the technologies that keep drinking water flowing safely to millions of people.