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Nutrients in freshwater in Europe
Nutrient conditions in European surface waters have improved in recent decades. Average concentrations of nitrate and phosphate in rivers and total phosphorus in lakes have decreased. The decrease in nutrient concentrations is mainly related to improvements in wastewater treatment and the reduction of phosphorus in detergents. However, there has been a clear tendency for surface water concentrations to level off in recent years, in particular phosphorus in rivers. There has been little change in groundwater nitrate concentration in the past few decades.
Ecological status of surface waters in Europe
The ecological status of European Union surface waters continues to decline, as reported, only 39.6% attained good status in 2021. Member States must urgently implement all measures to achieve a good ecological status to meet the Water Framework Directive’s 2027 deadline. The third River Basin Management Plans are the final opportunity to meet the Water Framework Directive’s objectives and deliver on the Water Resilience Strategy. Key opportunities to accelerate progress and foster synergies to amplify results across policies can be found through the Nature Restoration Regulation.
Pesticides in rivers, lakes and groundwater in Europe
Pesticides were assessed against effect or quality thresholds between 2013 and 2023. Following an update to the methodology, one or more pesticides were detected above their effect threshold at 19% to 27% of river water bodies. Exceedances were often caused by MCPA , terbuthylazine , imidacloprid and metolachlor . Exceedances of one or more pesticides were detected at between 11% and 18% of groundwater bodies, mainly by atrazine and its metabolites, glyphosate and bentazone . Differences in weather, crop type and reporting mean that changes between years may not be significant.