Following survey results that people drink twice as much tap water as in 2006, Minister of the Environment Carole Dieschbourg expressed satisfaction with the development at a press conference over the weekend.
How did this positive trend emerge? Minister Dieschbourg did not only praise herself for her efforts in the process, but also municipal administrations for launching numerous campaigns to promote tap water in recent years.
While the feedback of the survey was mostly positive, there were also people voicing concern over chalk residue or the taste of chlorine. Director of the Water Management Administration Jean Paul Lickes therefore reassured people that last year alone, 4,400 water controls were conducted to guarantee safety: "Water is by far the top priority when it comes to rigorous checking. If you look at the numbers, you will see that we average around 30 per day."
These controls may range from basic routine analyses to in-depth checks of a wider range of elements. A new potable water bill is also set to be presented soon, which will implement the even stricter EU regulations to increase water standards.
The management of water requires a significant degree of infrastructure to assure that it can be delivered to all private households in Luxembourg. Here is a brief overview of some interesting numbers: 270 springs, 40 boreholes, 100 pumping stations, 350 containers, and 50 water towers. Everything linked by 4,600 kilometres of pipes, and transferred to 180,000 connections in the end. Since the country's population is continuously growing, the infrastructure has to do the same.
A new water purification plant will be installed at the barrier lake in the north of the country, and is set to be operative by October this year. Although this will help match the increasing demands, officials still emphasise that both private households and businesses should pay attention as to not waste too much water in everyday life. The government is further be working on a new strategy to reduce amount of water that is being wasted.
RTL Today article: Tap water consumption has doubled in last 15 years
