PREWAPHARM

Reducing pharmaceutical pollution in water

A transnational mission for a healthier Northwest Europe

Pharmaceutical residues are increasingly contaminating water bodies across Northwest Europe – a growing concern driven by ageing populations, rising medicine use, and climate change. Up to 90% of orally administered medicines, including antibiotics and hormones, can enter water systems as active pollutants. These residues disrupt aquatic ecosystems, accelerate antibiotic resistance, and threaten human health.

PREWAPHARM unites experts from the healthcare and water sectors across seven countries to confront this urgent challenge. Together, we’re developing coordinated strategies, innovative solutions and sustainable actions to reduce pharmaceutical emissions at their source.

Our objectives

The overarching goal of PREWAPHARM is to reduce pharmaceutical residues in water across Northwest Europe by:

• Developing a transnational strategy: Creating a policy framework and guidelines to support national and regional action plans, ensuring aligned efforts across the NWE region.

• Strengthening governance & collaboration: Building harmonized cross-border frameworks for pharmaceutical pollution prevention in healthcare and water management sectors.

• Piloting innovative upstream solutions: Testing new approaches to reduce pharmaceutical emissions at the source – from smarter prescribing practices to advanced water treatment technologies.

• Creating scalable, replicable models: Designing toolkits and frameworks that can be adopted by other regions and EU Member States to multiply impact.

• Raising awareness & driving behavior change: Engaging healthcare professionals, pharmacists, patients, and the public through education and targeted communication strategies.

PREWAPHARM’s approach supports the EU Zero Pollution Action Plan and the Water Framework Directive by focusing on preventive, source-based measures – not just end-of-pipe fixes.

“Preventing medicine pollution in water isn’t just a technical challenge – it’s a shared responsibility. PREWAPHARM brings together science, policy and practice to protect both our environment and public health.”
— Erika Brattinga-Roth, PREWAPHARM Project Manager