Water4All CEO Among the Signatories of the Water Sector’s Joint Statement

On 8 October, seven Hungarian water sector organisations adopted a joint statement on the future of water management in Hungary. Among the signatories is Zsolt Eszes, CEO of Water4All Zrt.

The statement, titled “Common Minimum Principles of Professional Organisations on the Future of Hungarian Water Management”, responds to the deepening water crisis and to the government’s plans to address it. Government Resolution 1265/2026 (VIII. 25.) calls on the Minister for the Living Environment to regulate water use in line with available water resources and climate change projections, involving the relevant ministries, professional organisations and civil society.

The signatories differ in focus and remit, but all represent professional communities committed to the sustainability and development of Hungarian water management. They share the view that the long-term renewal of the water sector, and its adaptation to changed conditions, depends on the different disciplines working together.

Eight common minimum principles

1. Resilient water resources, adaptable water demand. The quantity and quality of water resources, water retention, and the water needs of society, the economy and the natural environment must be managed as one integrated system.
2. Renewing ageing water utility infrastructure. Predictable, long-term rehabilitation programmes are needed, based on existing asset valuations and the utilities’ rolling development plans (GFT).
3. Connected systems. Regional and municipal water management must be developed as systems that work together; bringing local public water facilities back into use and supporting small-scale, community water retention further strengthen water security.
4. Collecting and storing water in the landscape and in towns. Alongside keeping water where it falls, nature-based retention, more storage capacity and local use of rainwater, the statement proposes making urban stormwater drainage a public utility service — partly because of the heavy load stormwater places on wastewater treatment plants.
5. Use water more than once wherever possible. Regulation and the economic environment should support economical, circular water use and the wider use of alternative water resources.
6. Water has value. Decisions need accurate measurement and reliable data, and the value and service cost of water must be set predictably and fairly. Proposals to be examined include progressive water tariffs, a uniform national tariff for households, sewerage charges that also reflect stormwater from sealed surfaces, turning the current availability charge into a rehabilitation fee, more differentiated water resource charges, and phasing out free water supply for agriculture.
7. Water-aware users. Infrastructure investment alone is not enough: society and businesses need to be engaged and encouraged to use water economically and responsibly.
8. Stronger professional foundations. Research capacity and university education need strengthening, and design standards and technical guidelines must be regularly updated to reflect the changed hydrological situation.

Water reuse among the shared principles

The fifth principle — using water more than once wherever possible — ties in with what Zsolt Eszes discussed on Trend FM in September: treated wastewater is today an almost entirely unused resource. Read our article on the interview.

Dialogue with policymakers

The principles provide a framework for more detailed proposals from each discipline. The signatories are ready to develop specific measures for their own fields and to maintain a continuous, constructive dialogue with policymakers. Their shared aim is for Hungarian water management to develop in a way that is professionally sound, sustainable in the long term and integrated.

Signatory organisations

• Hungarian Hydrological Society
• Water Management and Hydraulic Engineering Section of the Hungarian Chamber of Engineers
• Hungarian Water Utility Association (MaVíz)
• Hungarian Water and Wastewater Association (MaSzeSz)
• Global Water Partnership Hungary Foundation
• National Association of Water Management Societies
• Water Supply and Sewerage Subcommittee of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences

Original documents

At the signatories’ request, we are publishing the statement on our own channels. The original documents, in Hungarian, can be downloaded below.