Orthophosphate in European rivers (2005)

Page Last modified 07 Nov 2018

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Topics: Water and marine environment

This page was archived on 02 Jul 2018 with reason: Content is outdated

The overloading of seas, coastal waters, lakes and rivers with nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus/phosphate) can result in a series of adverse effects known as eutrophication. In severe cases of eutrophication, massive blooms of planktonic algae occur.

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Discharges from urban areas are the largest, but not the only contributor of orthophosphate pollution to water. Phosphorus concentrations generally decreased in European rivers and to a lesser extent lakes during the 1990s, reflecting the improvement in wastewater treatment during this period.

Orthophosphate

The map shows pie charts of the mean annual concentrations of orthophosphate measured at Eionet-Water River monitoring stations in 2005 aggregated at country level. The size of each segment of the pie charts is proportional to the number of stations with orthophosphate concentrations falling within defined concentration limits. The segments are coloured according to the different concentration levels.