Keywords
Summary

Keywords

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1. Approximation of laws - Quality of surface water intended for the abstraction of drinking water - Division of water into categories according to limiting values - Adoption of formal classification provisions - Obligation of Member States - Absence

(Council Directive 75/440, Art. 2)

2. Measures adopted by the Community institutions - Directives - Implementation by Member States - Transposition of a directive without a legislative act - Conditions - Existence of a general legal framework guaranteeing full application of the directive

(EEC Treaty, Art. 189, third para.)

3. Approximation of laws - Quality of surface water intended for the abstraction of drinking water - Directives 75/440 and 79/869 - Need for precise transposition by Member States

(Council Directives 75/440 and 79/869)

4. Approximation of laws - Quality of surface water intended for the abstraction of drinking water - Directive 75/440 - Implementation by Member States - Drawing up of a plan of action for the improvement of water

(Council Directive 75/440, Art. 4(2) and Art. 8, first and fourth paras)

Summary

1. Whilst the division of surface water into categories according to limiting values, as provided for by Article 2 of Directive 75/440 concerning the quality required of surface water intended for the abstraction of drinking water, is essential for the implementation of that directive and of Directive 79/869 concerning the methods of measurement and frequencies of sampling and analysis of such water, that categorization does not impose on the Member States any separate obligation which must be complied with by means of a formal act indicating, in respect of each individual sampling point, the category in which the water has been classified.

2. The transposition of a directive into domestic law does not necessarily require that its provisions be incorporated formally and verbatim in express, specific legislation; a general legal context may, depending on the content of the directive, be adequate for the purpose provided that it guarantees the full application of the directive in a sufficiently clear and precise manner so that, where the directive is intended to create rights for individuals, the persons concerned can ascertain the full extent of their rights and, where appropriate, rely on them before the national courts.

3. Directives 75/440 and 79/869 are intended to protect public health and, to that end, to ensure the exercise of surveillance over surface water intended for the abstraction of drinking water and over the purification treatment of such water. That implies, first, that whenever non-compliance with the measures required by them might endanger the health of persons, those concerned should be able to rely on mandatory rules in order to enforce their rights and, second, that the operators of surface water sampling points may know precisely which obligations apply to them. Consequently, correct transposition requires the adoption of provisions with unquestionable binding force which are sufficiently specific, precise and clear in order to satisfy the requirements of legal certainty.

4. It follows from Article 4(2) of Directive 75/440 that each Member State is to draw up a systematic plan of action for the improvement of all surface water the parameters of which are capable of improvement, and that that plan must comprise stages, taking account of certain priorities and economic and technical constraints. In Member States whose federal states or regions are competent to act in the matter, that plan may make appropriate coordination necessary.

A Member State may not exclude certain water from that plan on the ground that it is polluted owing to the nature of the soil, thereby disregarding the rules governing derogation from the obligations imposed by the directive and provided for by the first and fourth paragraphs of Article 8 thereof.