EU Water Law

Sediment run-off from the land can make water muddy, blocking sunlight and, as a result, kill wildlife. Irrigation, especially when used improperly, can bring flows of salts, nutrients and other pollutants from soils into water. All these pollutants can also make the water unsuitable for abstraction for drinking water. The physical management of rivers and the wider hydrological environment of a river basin, such as by canalisation, dam building, or river bank management can disrupt natural habitats, such as bank side vegetation.

Groundwater provides base flow for surface water systems so that its quality may affect the quality of those surface waters. The quality of the groundwater is threatened by various factors, such as leaching of nitrate and pesticides from cultivated land, as well as more restricted contamination from point sources, such as waste chemicals deposits, landfills, oil tanks and contaminated sites.

For recreational activities such as swimming, faecal contamination from sewage and animals is a cause of concern for public health. Such pollution increases during heavy rain and floods, when pollution is washed into rivers and seas, and by overflowing sewerage networks.

Forty years ago, large quantities of uncontrolled, untreated or partially treated wastewater were discharged into many of Europe's waters. Minimum water quality standards (meaning at least 'sufficient' bathing water quality) have been met by 96 % of all EU bathing water sites reported for the 2015 bathing season. The share of poor quality bathing water sites dropped to 1.6 % in 2015 from 1.9 % in 2014. The share of bathing water sites in the EU with excellent water quality increased from 78.1 % in 2011 to 84.4 % in 2015.