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European waters -- Assessment of status and pressures 2018

Publication Created 19 Jun 2018 Published 03 Jul 2018
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The main aim of EU water policy is to ensure that a sufficient quantity of good-quality water is available for both people's needs and the environment. The Water Framework Directive (WFD), which came into force in 2000, established a framework for the assessment, management, protection and improvement of the quality of water resources across the EU. Since December 2015, EU Member States have been publishing the second river basin management plans (RBMPs) for achieving the environmental objectives of the WFD. These plans are updates of the first RBMPs, which were published in 2009.
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Publication Created 19 Jun 2018 Published 03 Jul 2018
EEA Report No 7/2018
The main aim of EU water policy is to ensure that a sufficient quantity of good-quality water is available for both people's needs and the environment. The Water Framework Directive (WFD), which came into force in 2000, established a framework for the assessment, management, protection and improvement of the quality of water resources across the EU. Since December 2015, EU Member States have been publishing the second river basin management plans (RBMPs) for achieving the environmental objectives of the WFD. These plans are updates of the first RBMPs, which were published in 2009.

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: 978-92-9213-947-6
: TH-AL-18-005-EN-N

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Figures used

Archived
Seasonal water exploitation index plus (WEI+), sub river basin district scale Seasonal water exploitation index plus (WEI+), sub river basin district scale in winter (top left), spring (top right), summer (bottom left) and autumn (bottom right) 2015.
Percentage of number water bodies not in good chemical status without uPBT per river basin district (RBD) in second RBMPs Surface water bodies failing to achieve good chemical status, by RBDs without uPBTs.
Percentage of area of groundwater bodies not in good chemical status per river basin district (RBD) in second RBMPs Groundwater bodies failing to achieve good status, by RBD.
Seasonal water exploitation index plus (WEI+), Ecrins functional river basin districts, 2015 Seasonal water exploitation index plus (WEI+), Ecrins functional river basin districts in winter (left) and summer (right) 2015.
Water bodies failing to achieve good overall surface water status, by river basin district (RBD) Surface water status, by river basin district (RBD)
Metal pollution in the Weser catchment from mining areas in the Harz Mountains Water bodies have been classified under the Water Framework Directive. Blue areas are water bodies at good chemical status. Red streams are failing to achieve good chemical status. Grey areas are not classified for chemical status. The river and floodplain sediments have been contaminated with the waste and mine water over centuries. In the floodplains high lead and cadmium concentrations affect the agriculture at pasture and arable land along the river floodplains.
Percentage of number water bodies not in good chemical status with uPBT per river basin district (RBD) in second RBMPs Surface water bodies failing to achieve good chemical status, by RBDs with uPBTs.
Percentage of area of groundwater bodies not in good quantitative status per river basin district Groundwater bodies failing to achieve good status, per River Basin District. RBMP: River Basin Management Plan.
Percentage of water bodies not in good ecological status/potential in Europe’s river basin districts in second River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs) The map present the proportion of surface water bodies (rivers, lakes, transitional and coastal waters) in less than good ecological status per River Basin District.

Interactive charts

Delineation of water bodies The Water Framework Directive ‘water environment’ includes rivers, lakes, transitional waters, groundwater and coastal waters out to 1 nautical mile (12 nautical miles for chemical status, i.e. for territorial waters). These waters are divided into units called water bodies. Member States have in the river basin districts delineated water bodies and reported different data to characterize water bodies such as length or area, category (groundwater, rivers, lakes, transitional, coastal waters), national type and information if a surface water body is designated as heavily modified or artificial. More dashboards are available below the main dashboard.
Chemical status of surface water bodies For surface waters, good chemical status means that no concentrations of priority substances exceed the relevant EQS established in the Environmental Quality Standards Directive 2008/105/EC (as amended by the Priority Substances Directive 2013/39/EU). EQS aim to protect the most sensitive species from direct toxicity, including predators and humans via secondary poisoning. A smaller group of priority hazardous substances were identified in the Priority Substances Directive as uPBT (ubiquitous (present, appearing or found everywhere), persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic). The uPBTs are mercury, brominated diphenyl ethers (pBDE), tributyltin and certain polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Click on <..> to see different dashboards, more dashboards are available below the main dashboard.
Quality element status Ecological status is determined for rivers, lakes, and transitional and coastal waters based on biological quality elements (phytoplankton, macrophytes, phytobenthos, benthic invertebrate fauna and fish) and supporting physico-chemical (nutrients, oxygen condition, temperature, transparency, salinity and river basin specific pollutants (RBSPs) and hydromorphological quality elements. The WFD specifies which elements are to be assessed for each water category and requires that biological and supporting quality elements achieve at least good status. The dashboards provide overview of the different results related to ecological status of quality elements. Further dashboards are available below.
Ecological status of surface water bodies Ecological status is an assessment of the quality of the structure and functioning of surface water ecosystems. It shows the influence of pressures (e.g. pollution and habitat degradation) on the identified quality elements. Ecological status is determined for each of the surface water bodies of rivers, lakes, transitional waters and coastal waters, based on biological quality elements and supported by physico-chemical and hydromorphological quality elements. The overall ecological status classification for a water body is determined, according to the ‘one out, all out’ principle, by the element with the worst status out of all the biological and supporting quality elements. More dashboards are available below the main dashboard.
Groundwater quantitative and chemical status The WFD requires Member States to designate separate groundwater bodies and ensure that each one achieves 'good chemical and quantitative status'. To meet the aim of good chemical status, hazardous substances should be prevented from entering groundwater, and the entry of all other pollutants (e.g. nitrates) should be limited. Good quantitative status can be achieved by ensuring that the available groundwater resource is not reduced by the long-term annual average rate of abstraction. In addition, impacts on surface water linked with groundwater or groundwater-dependent terrestrial ecosystems should be avoided, as should saline intrusions. Further dashboards are available below.
Pressures and impacts The WFD requires the identification of significant pressures from point sources of pollution, diffuse sources of pollution, modifications of flow regimes through abstractions or regulation and morphological alterations, as well as any other pressures. ‘Significant’ means that the pressure contributes to an impact that may result in failing to meet the WFD objectives of not having at least good status. In some cases, the pressure from several drivers, e.g. water abstraction from agriculture and households, may in combination be significant. Further dashboards are available below.

News and articles

Industrial emissions to water decreased in Europe but current levels are still a challenge for European waters Direct emissions released to water bodies from Europe’s large industrial sites have decreased in recent years for many pollutants. However, industrial pollution transferred through the sewer systems to urban waste water treatment plants (UWWTPs) has slightly increased, putting pressure on the waste water treatment infrastructure. While EU legislation tracks emissions from large industries, the extent of emissions from many small facilities remain largely unknown at European level. These are the key findings of a new European Environment Agency (EEA) analysis on data reported to the European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (E-PRTR) and under EU legislation on water.
Water use in Europe — Quantity and quality face big challenges Europeans use billions of cubic metres of water every year not only for drinking water, but also for use in farming, manufacturing, heating and cooling, tourism and other service sectors. With thousands of freshwater lakes, rivers and underground water sources available, the supply of water in Europe may seem limitless. But population growth, urbanisation, pollution and the effects of climate change, such as persistent droughts, are putting a huge strain on Europe’s water supplies and on its quality.
Life under water faces serious threats Life in Europe’s freshwater bodies and regional seas is not doing well. The poor state of ecosystems has a direct impact on many animals and plants living in water, and it affects other species and humans, depending on clean water. The state of Europe’s seas is dire, mainly due to overfishing and climate change, while freshwater bodies suffer from excess nutrients and altered habitats. Chemical pollution negatively impacts both freshwater and marine environments.
Clean water is life, health, food, leisure, energy… Water covers more than 70 % of Earth’s surface. It was in water that life on Earth started, so it is not surprising that all living things on our blue planet need water. Water is in fact many things: it is a vital need, a home, a local and global resource, a transport corridor and a climate regulator. And, over the last two centuries, it has become the end of the journey for many pollutants released to nature and a newly discovered mine rich in minerals to be exploited. To continue enjoying the benefits of clean water and healthy oceans and rivers, we need to fundamentally change the way we use and treat water.
European waters getting cleaner, but big challenges remain Despite progress in improving the quality of Europe’s lakes, rivers, coastal waters and groundwater sources, pollution, structures like dams, and over-abstraction remain top threats to their long-term health. A vast majority of Europe’s water bodies still fail to meet the European Union’s minimum target for ‘good status’, according to a European Environment Agency ‘state of water’ report published today.

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See also

Open ocean — ocean chemistry: dissolved oxygen and ocean acidity The chemical properties of seawater, such as oxygen content, acidity and salinity, have significant impacts on the health of marine ecosystems. When carbon dioxide from the atmosphere dissolves in seawater, it forms carbonic acid, which makes the seawater more acidic. Furthermore, nutrient run-off from agricultural fertilisers can cause eutrophication of seawater and oxygen starvation, which is made worse by warming seas under climate change. Warming ocean temperatures, oxygen loss and ocean acidification have together been called climate change’s ‘deadly trio’.
Water use and environmental pressures Europe's waters are affected by several pressures, including water pollution, water abstractions, droughts and floods. Major physical modifications to land (e.g.drainage, soil erosion and floodplain changes) and to water bodies (e.g. channelisation and barriers) also affect morphology and water flow.
Archived
EEA 2018 water assessment The report “European waters – assessment of status and pressures 2018” is based on Water Framework Directive (WFD), River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs) information reported to the Commission by Member States and stored at the EEA in the Water Information System for Europe (WISE)
Archived
European waters - assessment of status and pressures 2018
Archived
European freshwater - overview Several million kilometers of flowing waters and more than a million lakes cover the European continent. Each body of water has its own characteristics, such as clarity and biodiversity level, and faces its own specific environmental problems, such as eutrophication, pollution and hydromorphological deterioration, which occurs from both natural and anthropogenic activities.

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For references, please go to https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/state-of-water or scan the QR code.

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