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(1) The water resources of the Union are increasingly coming under pressure, leading to water scarcity and a deterioration in water quality. In particular, climate change, unpredictable weather patterns and drought are contributing significantly to the strain on the availability of freshwater, arising from urban development and agriculture.

(2) The Union’s ability to respond to the increasing pressures on water resources could be improved by wider reuse of treated waste water, limiting extraction from surface water bodies and groundwater bodies, reducing the impact of discharge of treated waste water into water bodies, and promoting water savings through multiple uses for urban waste water, while ensuring a high level of environmental protection. Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council mentions water reuse, in combination with the promotion of the use of water-efficient technologies in industry and water-saving irrigation techniques, as one of the supplementary measures Member States may choose to apply to achieve that Directive’s objectives of good qualitative and quantitative water status for surface water bodies and groundwater bodies. Council Directive 91/271/EEC requires that treated waste water be reused whenever appropriate.

(3) The communication of the Commission of 14 November 2012‘A Blueprint to Safeguard Europe’s Water Resources’ points to the need to create an instrument to regulate standards at Union level for water reuse, in order to remove the obstacles to a widespread use of such an alternative water supply option, namely one that can help to reduce water scarcity and lessen the vulnerability of supply systems.

(4) The communication of the Commission of 18 July 2007‘Addressing the challenge of water scarcity and droughts in the European Union’ sets out the hierarchy of measures that Member States should consider in managing water scarcity and droughts. It states that in regions where all preventive measures have been implemented according to the water hierarchy and where demand for water still exceeds availability, additional water supply infrastructure can in some circumstances, and taking due account of the cost-benefit dimension, serve as an alternative approach to mitigate the impacts of severe drought.

(5) In its resolution of 9 October 2008 on addressing the challenge of water scarcity and droughts in the European Union , the European Parliament recalls that a demand-side approach should be preferred when managing water resources, but considers that the Union should adopt a holistic approach when managing water resources, combining measures of demand management, measures to optimise existing resources within the water cycle and measures to create new resources, and that the approach needs to integrate environmental, social and economic considerations.

(6) In its communication of 2 December 2015‘Closing the loop – An EU action plan for the Circular Economy’, the Commission committed to taking a series of actions to promote the reuse of treated waste water, including the development of a legislative proposal on minimum requirements for water reuse. The Commission should update its action plan and keep water resources as a priority area in which to intervene.

(7) The purpose of this Regulation is to facilitate the uptake of water reuse whenever it is appropriate and cost-efficient, thereby creating an enabling framework for those Member States who wish or need to practise water reuse. Water reuse is a promising option for many Member States, but currently only a small number of them practice water reuse and have adopted national legislation or standards in that regard. This Regulation should be flexible enough to allow the continuation of the practice of water reuse and at the same time to ensure that it is possible for other Member States to apply those rules when they decide to introduce this practice at a later stage. Any decision not to practise water reuse should be duly justified based on the criteria laid down in this Regulation and reviewed regularly.

(8) Directive 2000/60/EC provides Member States with the necessary flexibility to include supplementary measures in the programmes of measures that they adopt to support their efforts to achieve the water quality objectives established by that Directive. The non-exclusive list of supplementary measures provided for in Part B of Annex VI to Directive 2000/60/EC contains, among others, water reuse measures. In this context and in line with a hierarchy of measures that could be considered by the Member States in managing water scarcity and droughts and that encourages measures ranging from water saving to water pricing policy and alternative solutions, and taking due account of the cost-benefit dimension, the minimum requirements for water reuse, as established by this Regulation, should be applicable whenever treated urban waste water from urban waste water treatment plants is reused, in accordance with Directive 91/271/EEC, for agricultural irrigation.

(9) Reuse of properly treated waste water, for example from urban waste water treatment plants, is considered to have a lower environmental impact than other alternative water supply methods, such as water transfers or desalination. However, such water reuse, which could reduce water wastage and save water, is practised only to a limited extent in the Union. This appears to be partly due to the significant cost of waste water reuse systems and the lack of common Union environmental and health standards for water reuse, and, as regards, in particular, agricultural products, due to the potential health and environmental risks and potential obstacles to the free movement of such products which have been irrigated with reclaimed water.

(10) Health standards in relation to food hygiene for agricultural products irrigated with reclaimed water can be achieved only if quality requirements for reclaimed water intended for agricultural irrigation do not differ significantly between the Member States. Harmonisation of requirements would also contribute to the efficient functioning of the internal market in relation to such products. It is therefore appropriate to introduce minimum levels of harmonisation by setting minimum requirements for water quality and monitoring. Those minimum requirements should consist of minimum parameters for reclaimed water that are based on the technical reports of the Commission’s Joint Research Centre and reflect international standards on water reuse, and other stricter or additional quality requirements imposed, if necessary, by competent authorities together with any relevant preventive measures.

(11) Water reuse for agricultural irrigation can also contribute to the promotion of the circular economy by recovering nutrients from the reclaimed water and applying them to crops, by means of fertigation techniques. Thus, water reuse could potentially reduce the need for supplemental applications of mineral fertiliser. End-users should be informed about the nutrient content of reclaimed water.

(12) Water reuse could contribute to the recovery of the nutrients contained in treated urban waste water, and the use of reclaimed water for irrigation purposes in agriculture or forestry could be a way of restoring nutrients, such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, to natural biogeochemical cycles.

(13) The high investment needed to upgrade urban waste water treatment plants and the lack of financial incentives for practising water reuse in agriculture have been identified as being among the reasons for the low uptake of water reuse in the Union. It should be possible to address those issues by promoting innovative schemes and economic incentives to appropriately take account of the costs and the socioeconomic and environmental benefits of water reuse.

(14) Compliance with minimum requirements for water reuse should be consistent with Union water policy and contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in particular Goal 6, to ensure the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all, as well as a substantial increase in recycling of water and safe water reuse globally with a view to contributing to achieving United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 12 on sustainable consumption and production. Furthermore, this Regulation should seek to ensure the application of Article 37 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union on environmental protection.