The Water Framework Directive and state of Europe’s water Peter Kristensen, European Environment Agency Anne Lyche Solheim, Kari Austnes, NIVA
The Water Framework Directive and state of Europe’s water
Peter Kristensen, European Environment AgencyAnne Lyche Solheim, Kari Austnes, NIVA
State of Europe’s waters http://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/water
How is it? (Nutrients, pesticides, heavy metals, ecological quality..............)How much is there? (Runoff, availability, demands, Water Stress.........)• Time trends • Getting better or worse?Pressures on the environment• Climate change• Human• Industrial• Agricultural “What is causing the problems?”State of Action on policies “Are they working towards target?”
Nitrate (mg N/l)
< 0.8 0.8-22-3.63.6-5.65.6-11.3> 11.3
Nitrate concentration per river basin districtlatest year (most RBDs 2008))
See WISE http://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/water/mapviewers/soe-ri-ni
BOD & total ammonium
Overall trend in river water quality
Nitrate & orthophosphate
RIVER BASIN MANAGEMENT PLANS – REPORTED IN 2010
2012 will be the European year of water in which the EU Com-mission will publish its “Blue-print to safeguard European waters” comprising reviews of the RBMPs, water scarcity and drought and vulnerability and adaptation policies. To accompany and inform the Blue-print and policy processes the European Environment Agency (EEA) plans for a 2012 report “State of Europe’s water”.
EEA 2012 State of Water assessment
• 100 pages synthesis/integrated report• Four thematic assessments (30-60 pages)• Overview of status and pressures affecting Europe’s water • Some more detailed sector and activities chaptersWFD Article 18: … a review of the status of surface water and groundwater in the Community under-taken in coordination with the European Environment Agency;
170 RBMPs
Other information
DG Environment
Blueprint to Safeguard European Waters
WFD imple-mentation
Water scarcity & drought
Climate change & water
EEA State of European Water
Synthesis/integrated
Water assessment
Thematic (focused) assessments
Analysis
Baseline (Status of waters and pressures affecting them)
Further assessments – e.g. water resource efficiency, water accounts, ecosystem goods and services
Status of reporting• 23 countries have reported data (not all countries have accepted RBMPs) • 141 River Basin Districts• 82 000 river water bodies (900 000 km – average length 11 km)• 17 000 lake water bodies (2/3 in Sweden and Finland)• 950 transitional and 2800 coastal water bodies
Preliminary results from analysis of 141 RBD reported by 23 EU Member States to the WISE-WFD database
16 coastal water bodies (14500 km2)645 river water bodies (11800 km)89 lake water bodies (2000 km2)
Source: Estonian Environmental Review 2009
Ecological status and potential
http://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/water/interactive/soe-wfd/wfd-surface
http://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/water/interactive/soe-wfd/wfd-surface
RESULTS ON STATUS, PRESSURES AND IMPACTS
Ecological status/potential - I
Preliminary results from analysis of 141 RBD reported by 23 EU Member States to the WISE-WFD database
Ecological status/potential - II
Preliminary results from analysis of 141 RBD reported by 23 EU Member States to the WISE-WFD database
Percentage of water bodies in less than good ecological status/potential
Rivers and lakes
< 10 %10-30 %30-50 %50-70 %70-90%> 90 %
Percentage of water bodies in less than good ecological status/potential
Transitional and coastal waters
< 10 %10-30 %30-50 %50-70 %70-90%> 90 %
Significant pressures % of river WBs (65 000) being affected by pressures
Preliminary results from analysis of 141 RBD reported by 23 EU Member States to the WISE-WFD database
(number of Member States)
32 000 rWBs
Lakes > 50 % without pressures
hydromorphology and diffuse pollution
Transitional waters Around 20 % without
pressures High pollution and hydromorphology
pressures
Coastal waters50 % without pressuresDiffuse & point sources
and Others pressures
Significant pressures
pollution
Hydromorphology
No pressure
0 20 % 40 % 60 % 80 %
Ecological status of lake WBs without and with significant pressures
Impacts% of river WBs being subject to specific impacts
Preliminary results from analysis of 141 RBD reported by 23 EU Member States to the WISE-WFD database
(number of Member States)
Lakes > 60 % without
impactsAltered habitats and
pollution
Transitional waters Around 35 % without
impacts High pollution and altered
habitats
Coastal waters50 % without pressures
40 % Nutrient enrichment
Impacts
0 20 % 40 % 60 % 80 %
pollution
Hydromorphology
River Ecological status/potential by population density of RBDs
< 15 15-50 50-100 100-200 >200
Population density in RBDs (inh./km2)
No pressures
Diffuse pollution pressures
Hydromorphology pressures
Percentage of river WBs having no or diffuse pollution or hydromorphology pressures
< 15 15-50 50-100 100-200 >200 Population density in RBDs
Ecological status, by count of WBs
River ecological status & pressures
Proportion of river WBs with and without pressures
Significant pressures
Pollution pressures (Diffuse and point source)
Hydromorphology pressure and altered habítats
Hydromorphological alteration
Transitional waters by count of WBs
TraC ecological status & potential
Coastal waters by count of WBs
Finland Environmental objectives(will be covered by DG Environment)
Source: Keto 2010 at www.vannportalen.no
Implementation of measures
Status 2010 Status 2015
Pressures causing less than good GES/
GEP Measures
Are the proposed measures (PoM) tackling the right pressures?What will be the status in 2015/21/27 if the PoMs are implemented?
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Conclusions • The information reported via the RBMPs can markedly improve the overview of status and pressures affecting Europe’s water.• More than half of surface water bodies in Europe are in less than good ecological status or potential.• River and transitional water bodies are in worse ecological status/potential than water bodies in lakes and coastal waters.• The most severe pressures are hydromorphological pressures causing altered habitats and diffuse pollutant pressures causing nutrient enrichment.
WISER and the future of WFDWFD implementation can benefit from the knowledge and tools produced by WISER.The scientific community can contribute to a better understanding of the status and pressures. I miss you in the evaluation of results from the RBMPsFuture of WISER database: Shared Environmental Information System principles: - Keep data at the source, but make them available for multiple uses- EEA has a vision of and is working on an Eye on Earth portal – producers make information available and the portal ensures users access to information.
EEA 2012 State of Water assessment
Mid-February EEA will start stakeholder consultation of the draft reports on ecological status and pressures and hydromorphology. The consultation will run until the end of March. We hope that the WISER community will read and make comments and input to the draft reports.Condensed versions of the reports will be published over the year.
Questions? Comments?Thank you for your attention!