The European Water Association celebrates its silver jubilee - 25 years for European water protection

Hennef, June 2006 - the European Water Association (EWA) celebrates its silver jubilee this month. The Association was founded on 22nd June 1981 following a meeting at the international trade fair IFAT in Munich when delegates from eleven national associations in Europe decided to exchange their experience and knowledge through an international association.

The EWA was established as an independent organisation and at that time was known as the European Water Pollution Control Association (EWPCA). Today EWA is one of the most important technical and scientific associations in the water sector.

EWA Jubilee Celebration and Autumn Brussels Conference On 6th November 2006 the EWA will hold a jubilee ceremony at the Representation of the Free State of Bavaria to the EU. The influential EWA Brussels Conference on European Water Management Policy will take place on 7th November 2006.

Exchange of experience and knowledge between European water experts From its very beginnings, the Association regarded exchange of experience and knowledge between experts as one of its principal objectives. The EWA is a working federation of national associations of which there are now 24. At its heart it is a network of specialists of the whole water sector, who co-operate and are supported by national member associations. It organises numerous conferences and workshops in close co-operation with the national associations all over Europe.

Influencing European decisions

In the course of the years the EWA has developed close contacts with bodies of the European Commission and Union - for example with the European Commission (DG Environment) and European Committee for Standardization (CEN). These contacts bring in the voices of water experts to be influential at a European level. Through the close co-operation with the Munich International Trade Fairs, the EWA gets involved with both, the IFAT in Munich and the IFAT China in Shanghai. But the working partners include many other organisations such as EUREAU, IWA (International Water Association), and WEF (Water Environment Federation). Today the EWA is one of the important technical and scientific associations in the water sector.

Water protection for Europe

Right from the start, the EWPCA reached out beyond the borders of the European Community. There was a clear wish to work with associations in Central and Eastern Europe many of which became members. After 1989 the EWPCA assisted several of these countries on issues of water management as they prepared to enter the European Union and it still offers this opportunity to further aspiring applicants for Union Membership. The EWA, and before it the EWPCA, made significant contributions to the development of several Directives and today is very actively engaged on the Water Framework Directive and Proposals for a Flood Directive.

Today the EWA consists of 24 national organizations, which represent both specialists and technicians from utilities and disposal companies, universities, government departments, regulators and consultants, as well as several companies and enterprises as supporting corporate members. Via the national member associations, the EWA represents more than 55,000 experts from the whole water sector. Further information about the history of the EWA can be taken from the Chronicle, available at:

<http://www.ewaonline.de/downloads/EWA_Chronicle.pdf> .

This Press Release is available at:  http://www.ewaonline.de/pages/press.htm

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EWA European Water Association  e.V.    <<EWA Jubilee.jpg>>

- Press office -

Nadine Schulte

Theodor-Heuss-Allee 17

53773 Hennef (Germany)

Tel.: +49-2242-872-189, Fax: +49-2242-872-135

Email: schulte@dwa.de