European Environment Agency States that Europe’s Water Needs Urgent Attention
In a new report, the European Environment Agency has stated that Europe’s water resources are under serious pressure and need urgent attention.
The report particularly highlighted the poor chemical status of Europe’s water resources.
Despite providing two-thirds of Europe’s drinking water, almost a quarter of groundwater bodies are not in good chemical status. Additionally, the status of rivers, lakes, and coastal waters has failed to improve, with less than 30% classed as being in good chemical status. The EEA highlights that a key reason for this lack of improvement is pollution from long-lived chemicals, including brominated flame retardants.
Damaging farming practices, especially the heavy use of pesticides and nutrients, remain the most prominent strain on water. Pollution from agriculture affects 32% of groundwaters and 29% of surface waters. Atmospheric chemical pollution from coal power plants also adds significant pressure to water resources in Europe.
This report highlights the need for stricter Water Framework Directive (WFD) implementation. The WFD set a 2015 deadline for European rivers, lakes, transitional waters, coastal waters, and groundwater to achieve good status. The European Environment Agency has said that this target has not been met, and the report claims there has been ‘no significant progress made since 2009’.
Claire Baffert, Senior EU Policy Officer, Water & Climate Change Adaption at WWF, said:
“The persistently lousy state of Europe’s waters shows that Member States are failing to address the water crisis, year after year. The Water Framework Directive has been in place for over two decades, but its goals remain largely unmet because national governments do not take its requirements seriously.”
Chemical pollution is also a huge problem in England’s water resources. A 2019 assessment by the Environment Agency, found that none of the 4,679 rivers, lakes, estuaries, and other surface waters in England achieved good chemical status.
Chemical pollution poses a significant threat to people’s health and the environment. Stronger regulations are needed to tackle this issue.
Read more on chemical pollution here.
