Water

Drinking Water Directive

Access to clean and safe drinking water is a fundamental human right. Ensuring the quality of materials and products that come into contact with drinking water is of utmost importance. The Drinking Water Directive (DWD) plays a crucial role in establishing the standards and regulations necessary to safeguard the quality of drinking water throughout the European Union. In recent years, significant changes have been made to the DWD, including requirements for products and materials in contact with drinking water.
Close-up of clear blue water splashing with droplets in motion

Kiwa DWD Services: Your Trusted Partner in Water Quality and Compliance

At Kiwa, we offer a comprehensive range of Drinking Water Directive (DWD) services specifically tailored to ensure water quality, system safety, and regulatory compliance during transitions and beyond. Whether you are navigating the complexities of local hygienic approvals or preparing robust DWD transition plans, Kiwa is here to guide you every step of the way.

Stay ahead of expiring EU Positive List approvals

With many substances set to expire by 2028, timely and strategic DWD registration is essential to keep your products on the market. Partner with the Kiwa DWD Consortium for a cost-effective, secure, and expert-driven approach. Ensure continuity, reduce complexity, and safeguard your market access. Join the consortium today and secure your future in EU drinking water applications.

Why a new directive?

The previous version of the DWD, established in 1998, emphasized the importance of maintaining the quality of drinking water and preventing any adverse health effects.

The European Commission cites the following reasons for the new DWD:

  • Updating existing safety standards and developing an 'emerging substances' watchlist.
  • Introduction of a 'risk-based approach' (RBA) covering the entire supply chain.
  • Access to water: an obligation for member states to improve or maintain access to safe drinking water for everyone, especially vulnerable and marginalized groups.
  • Provisions regarding substances and materials/products in contact with drinking water (Article 11 DWD).
  • Greater transparency for consumers (public information).

Are you ready for the Drinking Water Directive (EU) 2020/2184?

Manufacturers of starting substances now have a clear responsibility to demonstrate and declare purity. Without the right purity declaration, product certification and EU market access are at risk. Act now to stay compliant, avoid delays, and support your customers’ certification process.

Take action today, ensure your purity declarations meet DWD requirements and be future‑ready.

Read our document on general and specific purity requirements. Kiwa helps you comply with the DWD.

Read the document
Drinking water

The history

The new Drinking Water Directive did not come out of nowhere. It is the recast of the old 1998 DWD, taking the developments of the last decades into account. This includes the EAS and 4MSI results and the Right2Water initiative.

Timeline of Drinking Water Directive Updates from 1998 to 2023, detailing key milestones such as EAS mandate, 4MSI declaration, proposal revision, EU consultation, and national implementation

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The next steps

With the adoption of the article 11 acts by the commission, the next steps for the EU approval system for products in contact with drinking water are shown below. After legal scrutiny and if no objections are raised by European Parliament and Council, the acts will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union. 20 days later, they enter into force.

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The transition

With the entry into force of the Acts, the current situation of national approvals will transition into the EU system. Starting in 2027, products entering the EU market will need to comply. Products with existing national approvals have until end of 2032 to comply.

Illustratie_DWD transition_v2.png

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Insights

Read the latest news and stories

What you need to know about voluntary pre-product certification

The implementation of the European Union’s (EU) recast Drinking Water Directive (DWD) on 1 January 2027 marks important changes for manufacturers in the drinking water sector. Any new products you place on the EU market as a manufacturer will have to comply with new requirements. And while the Directive does not explicitly address pre-products, they are in many cases the best place to start. In this article, we explain why, while also discussing how your company can prepare for the changes ahead.

Young girl filling a glass with water from a kitchen faucet.

Kiwa is water, water is Kiwa: 80 years of drinking water safety

Without water, we couldn’t survive. Ensuring that drinking water is safe, through testing, inspection, and certification, has been part of Kiwa's mission from the very beginning. We spoke to Dirkjan van den Berg, Senior Expert Hygienic Aspects at Kiwa, about the new directive, Kiwa’s long history with water, and why that history matters more than ever today.

A technician who inspects materials that come into contact with drinking water

Kiwa and KWTC strengthen cooperation to boost EU – UK and Korean market access

During the Korea – German Water Industry Cooperation Seminar at the Novotel München Messe, held alongside the International Trade Fair for Wastewater Technology (IFAT), Kiwa and the Korea Institute for Water Technology Certification (KWTC) formalized their long-standing collaboration by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

Kiwa and KWTC colleagues together

Celebrating World Water Day 2026

"Today reminds us that inequalities in access to safe water affect people in different ways, and that water equity extends beyond any single dimension", say Business Unit Managers Jessica Weigert and Annemieke van der Velden.  "For us, leading Kiwa’s Water Business in Germany and the Netherlands, diversity is not an abstract value but a lived reality: our teams bring together people from different cultures, backgrounds and personal experiences, including colleagues who know from their own lives what it means not to have reliable access to water."

Two little girls drinking clear water from glasses

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