In recent years in particular, the consequences of climate change have also become apparent in the water supply: Water use conflicts are increasingly becoming a problem in Germany as well. The overriding principle for all must be a careful use of water. First of all, the water balance must be sustainably secured for the environment, nature and people. Furthermore, taking into account the functionality of water ecosystems, the supply of drinking water must have priority over all other forms of use. After all, access to clean water is essential for life, is a recognized human right, and ensuring such access is a core task of the state's services of general interest. § Section 8 WHG should be supplemented with the following wording: "The use for the necessary public water supply has priority over other uses, taking into account Section 6."

The Act on the Joint Task "Improvement of the Agricultural Structure and Coastal Protection" (GAK Act) should be expanded to include a new joint task that exclusively addresses the concerns of nature and water protection as well as flood protection. In view of the great challenges associated with the ecological development of water bodies and flood protection, and their importance for the whole, such a program seems justified. To this end, Article 91a of the German Basic Law (GG) would have to be expanded to include a third joint task. This demand can also be found in the 2020 environmental report of the German Council of Environmental Experts.

For further reading and discussion:

https://www.umweltrat.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/DE/01_Umweltgutachten/2016_2020/2020_Umweltgutachten_Kap_04_Wasserrahmenrichtlinie.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=6
§ Extension of the GAK Act with regard to nature, water and flood protection

According to the latest studies, in some German states such as Lower Saxony, too many nutrients and pesticides were found in 20 percent of the monitoring sites and 40 percent of the aquifers. What is needed is not only a fundamental reduction in nitrate inputs. In the future, there should be a water protection strip of 10 meters around all water bodies for agriculture between water bodies and the areas on which chemical crop protection is practiced. A distance of 5 meters may be sufficient if the riparian strip is permanently planted with vegetation. A nationwide standard must ensure that nutrients and pollutants are retained and nitrate inputs are reduced. Starting point would be the amendment of the Plant Protection Application Ordinance or a change in the Water Resources Act.

For further reading and discussion:

https://www.bund.net/fileadmin/user_upload_bund/publikationen/naturschutz/analyseleitfaden_biotopenverbund.pdf

The water abstraction charge is a country-specific levy for the abstraction, conveyance, discharge or comparable use of groundwater or water from surface waters, which is primarily intended to serve resource protection. The common European goal is for all water bodies to be in good ecological condition by 2027 at the latest. Germany is still a long way from achieving this goal, partly because it lacks the financial and human resources to take the necessary measures. Uniform criteria for water withdrawal charges can help here, because they can be used to finance measures such as renaturation, the dismantling of transverse structures and resettlement projects. It is crucial for a good regulation on the amount of the charge that the polluter-pays principle applies consistently and equally to all users. This is the only way to achieve a steering effect. Above all, it should not be possible for economic sectors that use water to be exempted from paying a water withdrawal charge or to be given preferential treatment. This applies in particular to agriculture and mining. Rather, these polluters should pay even higher rates of levy.

For further reading and discussion:

https://www.bund.net/service/presse/pressemitteilungen/detail/news/bund-studie-zum-wasserentnahmeentgelt-einheitliche-regelung-fuer-gewaesserschutz-ueberfaellig/

Slovenia is the first country in the European Union to enshrine the right to drinking water in its constitution. In the future, everyone in Slovenia will have the right to drinking water. This is now a public good and no longer a commodity. Drinking water may therefore no longer be privatized. The supply of water must be guaranteed by the state, which does this through the municipalities - "directly" and "non-commercially".

For further reading and discussion:

https://www.dnr.de/eu-koordination/eu-umweltnews/2016-wasser-meere/slowenien-recht-auf-trinkwasser-bekommt-verfassungsrang/