Petition is addressed to: Petitionsausschuss des Europäischen Parlaments

The petitioner states that the Ülemiste Lake provides drinking water for the inhabitants of the Estonian capital Tallinn and its immediate vicinity. The upper lake is protected area, according to the Water Directive. Under Article 28 (5) of the Estonian Water Act, it is allowed to reduce a section of Lake Ülemiste sanitary protection area by a construction activity on the bank of the water, used for the abstraction of drinking water. This will threaten the single water stock in the region, and possibly, also the quality of the drinking water. The petitioner has the view that the Estonian Water Act is violating Water Directive 2000/60/EC and Directive 98/83/EC on the quality of water intended for human consumption, as well as Articles 191-193 TFEU. The petitioner recalls that Member states are allowed to adopt more stringent protective measures in respect of water resources. In this case, nevertheless, Estonia established a relaxation of the drinking water legalisation compared to the EU standards governing the situation.