Decree No. 5/2017 regulating the criteria and standards that define the essential requirements for the quality of water intended for human consumption.

This Decree, consisting of 36 articles divided into seven Chapters and eight Annexes, regulates the criteria and standards that define the essential requirements for the quality of water and fresh underground water intended for human consumption. It also regulates the water control systems, the sanction regime and measures of protection, with a view to protecting human health from adverse effects resulting from possible contamination of water from abstraction to distribution. In addition, it aims at ensuring water potability and balance of composition, which are applicable to the different categories of water defined according to its main uses, according to the Water and Sanitation Code, approved by Legislative Decree No. 3/2015 of 19 October. It applies to the following categories of water depending on their main uses: a) Groundwater for the production of water intended for human consumption; b) Sea water for the production of water intended for human consumption through desalination processes; c) Water intended for human consumption.