EU directives such as the Water Frame Work Directive, Drinking Water Directive and Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive are the main political drivers that have catalyzed strong opportunities for treatment techniques such as membrane bio-reactor (MBR), ozone water treatment and ultraviolet (UV).
Such directives counter balance the budget restrictions felt today by many governments in Europe with respect to infrastructure projects. While water treatment operators and customers would like to improve water quality, in some cases it takes government regulation to force the use of new technology.
An example of this is the push, noted in a previous posting, by the Swiss government to to control the presence of pharmaceuticals and other personal care products from contaminating the drinking water supply.