EU Environmental Kommissar Drafting Water Consumption Reduction Directive – Tens Of Billions More Costs For Citizens

Parts of southern Europe are experiencing drought conditions. So what does the European Union want to do about it? They want the wet European countries to use less water too.

Okay, it’s not a solution, but I guess it’s a way of showing solidarity with dry countries, or something. Call it Europe’s next folly.

The online Die Welt has a report here called “Billions For New Faucets. Now that energy saving lights have been decreed by the EU Burgermeister-Meisterburger, now comes water-saving faucets. Die Welt writes:

In the coming years additional tens of billions of euros in extra costs may be levied on homeowners and tenants. The EU Commission wants to increase the efficiency of buildings with respect to water consumption by reducing it 30% using a new directive in member states. It is being considered to obligate homeowners and landlords to replace shower heads, faucets and toilets with new ones that have have considerably less consumption.”

This is for real. Got to hand it to the EU Commission – they really know how to come up with ways to harass and infuriate its citizens, and to interfere with their lives. For Americans and non-EU citizens, it will soon be coming to you too.

All of this is designed to benefit a few select companies, primarily manufacturers of high-end household fixtures who are having difficulty selling their high-priced wares due to the economic crisis in Europe and USA. This is going to be expensive for normal citizens. Die Welt writes:

Using a conservative figure of 400 euros per living unit, owners of the more than 25 million homes and apartments in Germany will have to fork out over 10 billion euros.”

If you do the math for all of Europe, you can estimate about €50 billion! And for what? For the luxury of having less water of course. Well, didn’t you know? Everyone dreams of having less water. Die Welt adds:

With the planned regulation, Slovenian EU-Environment Kommissar Janez Potocnik wants to mainly fight the water shortage in southern Europe.”

Can someone tell me how using less water in rainy Britain is going to make things wetter in Romania? Die Welt takes a look at some water statistics in Germany and what a 30% reduction in consumption would mean.

‘Of the annually available 188 billion cubic meters of water in Germany, only 2.7 percent gets used by public water works,’ says Martin Weyland, head managing director of the Federal Association of Energy and Water Management (BdEW).”

Eventually, that 2.7% ends up going right back into the water cycle. And a 30% reduction would mean that Germany would use only 1.9% instead of 2.7% of the water it has available. The result: that little, meaningless dip in the statistics would cost €10 billion. Yes folks, the EU masterminds are indeed again at work.

Die Welt also writes that already many public wastewater utilities say their sewage systems are having problems because NOT ENOUGH water is being fed into them by households, and so the utilities themselves have to flush their sewers with fresh water from time to time. Weyland says:

This is the only way to prevent foul odors and damage to sewage lines from deposits.”

Die Welt also brings up that it is highly questionable whether replacing faucets, shower heads and toilets would lead to any savings at all. People will simply take longer showers, or flush several times. Moreover, wastewater utility companies would have to flush their lines out with fresh water more often.

Any other brilliant ideas Herr Kommissar?

Although the Die Welt piece has lots more interesting points, I don’t need to write on more about this; you all get the picture. Enough lunacy for today.

16 responses to “EU Environmental Kommissar Drafting Water Consumption Reduction Directive – Tens Of Billions More Costs For Citizens”

  1. DirkH

    An obvious next step would be a mandated 30% cut in household electricity consumption.

  2. RCS

    I believe that we should follow the EU’s directives on renewable energy (whatever that may be), biofuels, water usage, etc.

    This will bring forward the “crunch” when the citizens of Europe realise that they are being made to follow a failed ideology for no purpose and bring the EU down.

    When the EU large combustion plant directive bites in the UK and in Germany, and when the lights go out, sanity may raise its head. Until that time, the EU can issue lunatic directives.

  3. R. de Haan

    The Eurocrat Globalist’s will achive total control if they manage to lay their hand on the food, water and energy supplies of their populations and making them pay for it.

    Ever heard of the MAFIA?

    Well, you are ruled by the MAFIA.

  4. ArndB

    More than mere costly issues may come up and have an effect on living condition.
    Today (28.April, p. 12) the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) has given Ottmar Edenhofer, chief –economist at the Potsdam-Institute, a forum to out line how to scrap the representative democracy in German. (“Es geht um die Zukunft der repräsentativen Demokratie”).

    Edenhofer suggest: The German Parliament issues a law for a permanent committee for sustained energy and climate policy. The principle task of the committee is two fold (summarized): It proposes climatic and energy political goals to the Parliament on short-, medium-, and long terms, (of which the Parliament has to choose one), and controls in regular reports whether, or, to what extent, the goals have been reached.
    Edenhofer’s recommendation is a call for a ‘sustainable’ influencial power and control by climate (& economist) science.

    1. DirkH

      The PIK has an “economist”? That must be green funny economics then…
      Another Bavarian in Berlin (Edenhofer and Schellnhuber are Bavarian names).
      (And Potsdam is a suburb of Berlin, for the Non-Germans)

      Homepage of Prof. Dr. Ottmar Edenhofer
      Co-Chair of Working Group III of the IPCC – deputy director and chief economist of PIK

      http://www.pik-potsdam.de/members/edenh

      http://www.pik-potsdam.de/members/edenh/curriculum-vitae
      # since 2008
      Professor for “Economics of Climate Change” at the Technical University Berlin, Member of Faculty VI and VII

  5. Joe Hennon

    Statement by Janez Potočnik, European Commissioner for Environment

    I am aware of allegations that appeared in the German press concerning future plans to restrict water use in the Member States and to impose regulations on landlords and households. These allegations are unfounded.

    I wish to make it very clear that the Commission has no plans at present to make water-saving taps mandatory in any Member State, no plans to oblige Member States to reduce household water consumption, and no targets have been set in these areas.

    The main aim of EU water policy has always been to ensure that good quality water is available throughout the EU in sufficient quantities. The Commission is committed to addressing water scarcity as part of a Blueprint for Water in 2012 and, as always, a number of studies are ongoing in this area.

    Several policy options are being examined regarding the technical, environmental and economic feasibility of regulatory and non-regulatory options for water performance requirements for buildings, but no new decisions have been taken in this area, nor are they indeed pending.

    The European law-making process is a highly consultative one. When legislation is proposed, proposals are accompanied by studies assessing the potential environmental, social and economic effects. Any targets or legislation in the area of water use would be accompanied by the appropriate impact assessment as a matter of course, taking account of the extent to which the situation in Europe is diverse, with a view to avoiding a “one size fits all” approach.

    I regret that articles on sensitive questions such as Commission proposals for water use in Member States appear in the media before any details have been checked with the relevant staff at the European Commission.

  6. Brian H

    Note the weasel-words throughout. “At this time”, “highly consultative”, “impact assessment”, etc. Nowhere is there a commitment not to impose a top-down and enforceable scheme, and it is nowhere suggested that it is beyond their authority to do so.

    1. DirkH

      They usually try again, and again, and again, until they can slip it in unnoticed.

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