Environment

Because of outdated and incomplete permits, it is often unknown what harmful substances end up where in the river Meuse. 

RIWA-Maas, the association of drinking water companies, therefore sounded the alarm on Monday in response to its 2023 annual report.

The discharge of industrial wastewater damages the water quality of the Meuse, RIWA-Maas states. Discharges of substances such as PFAS are a particular problem, according to the association of Belgian and Dutch drinking water companies that use Meuse water as a source of drinking water. These so-called persistent, mobile and toxic substances do not break down, are difficult or impossible to purify with existing techniques and are harmful to people and the environment. And who exactly is discharging what into the Meuse, no one knows at this time. Drinking water from the Meuse reaches 7 million Dutch and Belgian people. Enough reasons for action, says RIWA-Maas.

RIWA-Maas therefore wants a complete overview of all direct and indirect industrial discharges in the entire (international) Meuse catchment area to be drawn up quickly. As Maarten van der Ploeg, director of RIWA-Maas, emphasizes, “At the moment, no single authority has full insight into which harmful substances end up in the water where. In this way, it is impossible to effectively monitor the water quality of the Meuse and objectives to improve water quality will never be achieved.”

(SR for Tagtik/Source: RIWA/Illustration picture: Pixabay)