Water is also becoming a scarcer commodity in some parts of Germany. The Green Party in the Bundestag is now calling for uniform water charges for companies across the country in a parliamentary group resolution.
Due to the climate crisis, water is becoming a precious commodity in some places in Germany. How it is handled varies greatly from region to region. The Green Party in the Bundestag is therefore now calling for uniform water charges across the country. In addition, they are urging in a parliamentary group resolution that is to be submitted to the ARD Capital Studio that those responsible for pollution such as medicines and microplastics in water must contribute to the costs of cleaning.
Many federal states already have water charges – but Bavaria, Hesse and Thuringia do not. Bavaria is currently discussing the introduction of a water cent.
The fees vary greatly depending on the federal state. In principle, users and companies pay an amount per cubic meter of water that they take from groundwater or from lakes and rivers. In some cases, the amounts are very low, and some groups, such as agriculture, are often exempt.
“Large companies in particular, such as those in the brown coal mining industry, must take on more responsibility,” says Britta Haßelmann, leader of the Green Party in the Bundestag. Water charges should be levied everywhere in Germany – and uniformly so that they apply to all companies, says the Green Party politician. However, these charges are a matter for the states. The states must develop common guidelines in a working group.
The EU wants to enforce new rules
The issue of cleaning polluted water cannot be resolved without the help of the federal states. They will probably have to fight hard in the coming months and years. The EU has passed new rules which, among other things, will make those responsible for pollution pay. Germany must now implement this EU directive.
Wastewater often contains traces of substances such as pharmaceuticals or microplastics, which current sewage treatment plants have difficulty filtering out. This would require an additional purification stage – a fourth one. And that is expensive.
In their resolution of the extended parliamentary group executive committee, the Greens demand: “Anyone who pollutes water must pay for the damage.” From the Greens’ point of view, manufacturers of medicines, cosmetic products containing microplastics, but also lignite mining should pay for the cleanup. They are urging the federal and state governments to “effectively implement” the law developed at EU level.
Business associations are against it
Pharmaceutical associations such as Pharma Deutschland, however, consider the EU agreement to be “unbalanced” and fear “that it could significantly impair the supply of medicines in Germany”. The pharmaceutical industry points out that implementation would mean significant additional costs for drug manufacturers, “which would ultimately burden the entire German health system”.
Although the association stresses that the pharmaceutical industry must contribute to the costs, it finds it unfair that the EU agreement only imposes obligations on pharmaceutical and cosmetics companies and excludes other industries and agriculture.
The German Chemical Industry Association (VCI) sees things similarly and speaks of “botched EU legislation”. Ulrike Zimmer from the VCI emphasises: “Where there are regional problems, a fourth purification stage can be the right solution.” But now a scattergun approach is planned, which requires all large sewage treatment plants to be equipped with the system. This is disproportionate.
The FDP in the Bundestag, the coalition partner of the Greens, is also calling for greater differentiation. Bundestag member Muhanad Al-Halak is calling for water analyses to be carried out first to determine where pollutants occur and in what concentrations. This data could be used to create a roadmap showing “which wastewater disposal companies need an extended purification stage first and also in which areas a third purification stage is completely sufficient,” says the FDP politician.
