Brussels, 10/03/2015 (Agence Europe) - There has been improvement in the quality of drinking and bathing water in the EU in recent years but member states are still far from meeting all their legal obligations that will allow European water to achieve “good ecological status”, according to a communication and reports on the implementation of the relevant EU legislation, published by the European Commission on Monday 9 March.
This legislation is Directive 2000/60/EC, the water framework directive which requires effective water management by programmes of measures by river basin district to ensure the supply of sufficient quantities of good quality water, and the “daughter” directive, 2007/60/EC, on the assessment and management of flood risks, which requires member states to evaluate and map flood risks and to put in place flood risk management plans.
The communication, The Water Framework Directive and the Floods Directive: Actions towards the “good status” of EU waters and to reduce flood risks, reveals that: - many member states have planned their measures without taking account of the current state of the waters and pressures identified as barriers to the good status of the water in river basin management plans; - most member states have begun work on compiling an inventory of the priority substances for particular attention, but the majority have yet to quantify the various emissions from differing pollution sources; - most of the measures identified by the member states as relating to chemical pollution are, by this fact, too general; - water pollution from nitrates of agricultural origin is considerable; - the member states' first programmes of measures do not address the issue of overuse of water resources (for irrigation, urbanisation and economic activities other than agriculture) which affect 10% of surface water and 20% of groundwater; - the first river basin water management plans do not respect the needs of nature and ecosystems; - flood risks have been mapped and progress made in managing such risks but changes to river flow and encouragement of navigation are still too frequent.
These findings are grist to the mill for the Commission which has constantly stressed the need to tighten the implementation of existing European legislation, as the 7th environment action programme does.
“Water is the basis of all life: we need it for drinking and sanitation, to grow food, produce goods and energy. Its preservation is one of the world's biggest challenges. Member states need to sustain and enhance action to implement the water framework and floods directives to benefit people, nature and the environment addressing pollution, excessive abstraction and river alterations”, commented European Environment Commissioner Karmenu Vella.
He added: “To this end, EU funding opportunities should be exploited to the full”. Rural development programmes, cohesion funding, the Life programme, support for innovation and deployment of innovative technologies to meet the challenges faced with regard to water and flood risk management are there for that very reason.
The Commission recommends: - reconciling environmental and economic objectives by means of measures that guarantee sufficient clean water for nature, people and industry; - ensuring the sustainability and economic viability of the EU's agriculture and aquaculture; - supporting energy production; - sustainable transport and the development of tourism that contributes to green development.
The interim report on the implementation of the water framework directive - the fourth of its kind - prepared on the basis of reports submitted by the member states also contains suggestions for improving future programmes of measures to be included in the update of river basin management plans, expected no later than 22 December 2015.
The European Commission intends to improve the provisions in the European directive on the quality of drinking water (Directive 98/83/EC). That was its response to the very first European citizens' initiative which called for water to be recognised as a universal human right (see EUROPE 11106 and 11045). (Aminata Niang)