ERSAR is the Portuguese authority for Water and Waste regulation, including the regulation of drinking water quality. ERSAR's aim is that operators of water and waste services deliver quality services at affordable prices. ERSAR is responsible for developing an integrated regulatory approach based on two separate yet complimentary levels:
- Structural regulation, for improving the organization, legislation, capacity building and the disclosure of information of the water and waste sectors.
- Behavioural regulation of the utilities, through legal and contractual regulation, economic regulation, quality of service regulation, drinking water quality regulation and the regulation of the operator's interface with consumers.