Federal Environment Minister Schneider is calling on manufacturers to pay for water pollution

Federal Environment Minister Carsten Schneider (SPD) wants to make the industries responsible for water pollution pay more. “Anyone who pollutes our water also has to pay for the cleaning,” said Schneider at the start of the “Future=Water” conference at the Federal Environment Ministry.

There are increasing amounts of drug residues and other micropollutants in the wastewater, which is why billions of euros would have to be invested in the expansion of a “fourth stage of purification in sewage treatment plants”. Pharmaceutical companies should be asked to pay for purifying the water in the future, said Schneider.

The person responsible should pay

Schneider explained: “This has to be fairly financed, not by the citizens, but by those responsible.” There is, however, great lobbying pressure. The EU Municipal Wastewater Directive, passed at the end of 2024, has been in force since the beginning of 2025 and must be implemented into German law by the end of July 2027.

Among other things, it provides for an additional, fourth cleaning stage to remove micropollutants. Pharmaceutical and cosmetics manufacturers should therefore bear at least 80 percent of the costs incurred.

In case of doubt, minister wants national regulation

According to a spokesman for the Association of Municipal Companies (VKU), it is still unclear how this will be specifically organized in Germany; there is no draft law yet. Poland is also bringing a lawsuit against producer responsibility before the European Court of Justice.

Schneider still wants to remain firm. He hopes for an EU solution for the financial participation of manufacturers. “If necessary, I can also imagine a national approach,” said the Federal Environment Minister.

Data center operators should pay more for water

From Schneider's point of view, data center operators should also pay more for the use of water - or invest in more economical technology. Times of water shortages are also becoming more common in Germany, says Schneider. "This leads to new distribution questions to which we must find fair answers. When water is scarce, it cannot be the case that citizens' basic needs have to compete with large-scale consumers such as data centers."

The Federal Environment Minister also signed a joint declaration on water resilience with EU Water Commissioner Jessika Roswall. It was said that Germany was the first EU country to complete a structured dialogue with the EU Commission on how water use and treatment should be improved. “We are very proud of this because we attach special importance to water,” emphasized Schneider.