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Freshwater quality — SOER 2010 thematic assessment: The continuing presence of a range of pollutants in a number of Europe's freshwaters threatens aquatic ecosystems and raises concerns for public health. Current reporting under the EU Water Framework Directive shows that a substantial proportion of Europe's freshwaters are at risk of not achieving the aim of 'good status' by 2015. Driven by the EU Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (UWWTD), improvements in the collection and treatment of wastewater in some regions of Europe have led to a reduction in the discharge of some pollutants to fresh and coastal waters. Challenges remain, however, because UWWTD implementation remains incomplete and other significant sources of water pollution exist, especially agriculture and urban storm flows. The implementation of effective and timely measures, required under the WFD, needs to encompass a greater focus on controls 'at source' and the efficient use of resources including water, energy and chemicals.
Located in The European environment – state and outlook 2010 › Thematic assessments
Freshwater quality — key message 2: The Water Framework Directive, the single most important piece of legislation relating to the quality of Europe’s fresh and coastal waters, aims to attain good ecological and chemical status by 2015. For a number of freshwater bodies, substantial improvements will be required to meet this target.
Located in The European environment – state and outlook 2010 › … › Freshwater quality — SOER 2010 thematic assessment › Key messages
Europe's water information at your fingertips: Our demand for water and wastewater discharges, often have a substantial impact on the quality and quantity of freshwater resources. On World Water Day, 22 March, the European Environment Agency (EEA) and partners presented a new and improved version of the web portal Water Information System for Europe (WISE).
Located in News
Waterbase - Emissions to water: Emissions to water are an important element (describing the pressure) in assessment of the state of Europe’s environment (SoE). This database contains data on emissions of nutrients and hazardous substances to water, aggregated within River Basin Districts (RBDs), in the EEA member countries. The reporting process, endorsed by the Water Directors, and this publication of the data, enables all stakeholders to use the data and contributes to streamlining with other reporting processes.
Located in Data and maps › Datasets
WFD CIS Guidance Document No. 3: CIS Guidance Document No. 3: Analysis of pressures and impacts. Report from the WFD Common Implementation Strategy.
Located in Environmental policy document catalogue
Proportion of classified surface water bodies in different River Basin Districts in poor chemical status for rivers and lakes (left panel) and for coastal and transitional waters (right panel): The figure shows percentage of the total number of classified water bodies. See the indicator specification for more details.
Located in Data and maps › Maps and graphs
WISE WFD Database: The WISE-WFD database contains data from River Basin Management Plans reported by EU Members States according to article 13 of the Water Framework Directive. The full database is quite complex and not yet made available for public download. However, a number of aggregation queries have been made, these aggregation queries extract data from the database and present it as data tables that can be downloaded in Excel format. Most of the reported data are considered final, however, in some cases they are considered provisional by Member States. The aggregation tables are updated when the underlying WFD Database is updated with new or corrected data. It is therefore important to associate the use of any information in the tables with the date in which data was retrieved. The tables are organised for an access at various levels of overviews versus details - aggregated at country, river basin district (RBD) or in some cases even RBD-subunit level.
Located in Data and maps › Datasets
WFD: River Basin District Info Viewer: WFD River Basin District Information viewer
Located in Environmental topics › … › Interactive maps and data viewers by category › WISE SoE and WFD
Water for agriculture: We need food and we need clean freshwater to produce our food. With growing demand from human activities on the one hand and climate change on the other, many regions especially in the south struggle to find enough freshwater to meet their needs. How can we continue growing food without letting nature go thirsty for clean water? A more efficient use of water in agriculture would certainly help.
Located in Articles
Waterbase - Emissions to water: Emissions to water are an important element (describing the pressure) in assessment of the state of Europe’s environment (SoE). This database contains data on emissions of nutrients and hazardous substances to water, aggregated within River Basin Districts (RBDs), in the EEA member countries. The reporting process, endorsed by the Water Directors, and this publication of the data, enables all stakeholders to use the data and contributes to streamlining with other reporting processes.
Located in Data and maps › Datasets