DOC New actions for supplying citizens with drinking water quality

Citizens will be supplied with quality drinking water, in accordance with the latest public health standards. Several measures in this regard have been included in the Law on drinking water quality, which was published in the Official Journal today.

The aim of the project is to protect the health of citizens by regulating the requirements for ensuring the population's access to safe drinking water sources. The document provides for the update of the list of quality parameters of drinking water subject to verification and the establishment of a system for evaluating and managing contamination risks.

The institution responsible for monitoring the quality of drinking water at the national level is the National Agency for Public Health. At the request of the drinking water supplier, the institution will examine and grant derogations according to the established parameters. The legislative initiative also contains some provisions regarding the responsibilities of local public authorities. Thus, LPAs will be obliged to identify individuals with limited access to water, ensure their connection to the distribution network, and inform citizens about water quality.

Public health specialists warn that diseases conditioned by the consumption of microbially or chemically contaminated drinking water constitute a major problem for human health. Industrial and agricultural pollution, through the increasingly frequent use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers, are among the factors contributing to water contamination. This project aims to reduce by 2030 the proportion of water samples non-compliant with chemical parameters to under 25% and microbiological parameters to under 10%, modernize surface water treatment plants, including ensuring 100% of water supply systems with water disinfection installations.

According to 2023 statistics, about 63% of localities in the Republic of Moldova had access to drinking water supply from public systems. This figure is up about 13% compared to 2018.

Moreover, the bill, developed by the Ministry of Health and the National Agency for Public Health, aims to harmonize national legislation with EU legislation and seeks to update existing regulations to address challenges regarding drinking water quality.

The law comes into force three months after publication in the Official Journal.