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Dashboard (Tableau)

Ecological status of surface water bodies

Dashboard (Tableau)
Prod-ID: DAS-41-en
Published 03 Jul 2018
1 min read
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.

More information

Caution is advised when comparing Member States and when comparing the first and second RBMPs, as the results are affected by the methods Member States have used to collect data and often cannot be compared directly.

In addition, further information is provided in a  Draft guide to dashboards on ecological status; in chapter 2 of the EEA report European waters – assessment of status and pressures 2018, and section 2.4 Ecological status and exemptions of the WFD 2016 reporting guidance.

Further information on surface water ecological status or potential is available in following dashboards:

Related content

News and articles

Article Ensuring clean waters for people and nature Water covers more than 70 % of the Earth’s surface and is essential to all life on our planet. Of all the Earth’s water, 96.5 % is contained within the oceans as salt water, whereas the remaining 3.5 % is freshwater — lakes, rivers, groundwater and ice. Good management of this limited and precious resource is indispensable for the well-being of people and nature.
News 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.

See also

Folder European waters - assessment of status and pressures 2018
Page 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)
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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/themes/water/european-waters/water-quality-and-water-assessment/water-assessments/ecological-status-of-surface-water-bodies or scan the QR code.

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