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1
Josefsson, Henrik. "The Environmental Liability Directive, the Water Framework Directive and the Definition of ‘Water Damage’." Environmental Law Review 20, no. 3 (2018): 151–62. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1461452918789814.
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The Environmental Liability Directive (ELD) focuses on remediating environmental damage. To assess environmental damage it uses existing assessment systems, and the constructs that are at the centre of these systems. One of these is ‘ecological status’ in the context of the Water Framework Directive (WFD). The ELD refers to the WFD with respect to what ‘water damage’ concerns, without specifying what it means and it offers no threshold for when deterioration is significant enough to count as ‘water damage’. A definition of ‘water damage’ is developed, based on the European Court of Justice’s latest rulings, which clarify when the deterioration of a body of water is so significant that it passes from ‘deterioration’ under the WFD, to ‘water damage’ under the ELD.
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Sturm, Jürgen. "European Water Framework Directive and Its Impact on Water Transport in the European Union." Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board 1909, no. 1 (2005): 74–81. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0361198105190900111.
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As a result of the July 1999 European Summit held in Gothenburg, Sweden, all European Union policy areas are subject to the guiding principle of sustainable development. Within this context, the European Commission published a white paper on transport policy to 2010, focusing on the need to foster more environmentally and socially sustainable means of transport to achieve a modal shift away from road transport. The white paper mentions inland navigation as a mode with great potential to contribute to a shift toward more sustainable modes than roads and recognizes that among other measures, infrastructural improvements must be realized on the European waterways. However, European environmental legislation, namely, the Water Framework Directive (WFD), is likely to challenge the strategy of necessary improvements on European waterways. The target conflict arising from environmental legislation that is capable of contradicting efforts to ensure sustainability in the transport sector is examined. Within this context, several aspects of WFD are described: development; the current implementation status in the national law of European Union member states and the potential consequences for waterway infrastructure, dredging, and navigability; and the general role of inland navigation in a competitive transport market. Possible instruments foreseen in the WFD to balance the interests of environmental concerns and those of the navigation sector are also addressed.
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Dolan, T., P. Howsam, D. J. Parsons, and M. J. Whelan. "Impact of European Water Framework Directive Article 7 on Drinking Water Directive compliance for pesticides: challenges of a prevention-led approach." Water Policy 16, no. 2 (2013): 280–97. http://dx.doi.org/10.2166/wp.2013.166.
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Article 7 of the European Water Framework Directive (WFD) promotes a prevention-led approach to European Drinking Water Directive (DWD) compliance for those parameters that derive from anthropogenic influences on raw water quality. However, the efficacy of pollution prevention interventions is currently uncertain and likely to be variable, which makes absolute compliance with the drinking water standard a significant challenge. Member State governments, the WFD competent authority, the DWD competent authority, water suppliers and agriculture are all affected by and have a different perspective on the nature of this challenge. This paper presents a discussion of these perspectives applicable to stakeholders in all European Member States; the analysis is supported with examples from England and Wales. Improved understanding of the challenges faced by each group is needed if these groups are to achieve the shared goals of WFD Article 7 compliance and DWD compliance without a disproportionately negative impact on agricultural productivity. In addition, the European Commission needs to be aware of and address a potential incompatibility between WFD Article 7 and the DWD. With this in mind, targeted recommendations for action are presented for each stakeholder group.
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Josefsson, Henrik. "The Water Framework Directive and Transnational Situations: a Call to Rethink Transboundary Water Management?" Journal for European Environmental & Planning Law 22, no. 1-2 (2025): 168–86. https://doi.org/10.1163/18760104-22010209.
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Abstract This article examines the transnational dimensions of the European Union’s Water Framework Directive (wfd). Given that 60% of the waters covered by the wfd are transboundary, effective management requires transcending traditional legal frameworks of the nation-state. Accordingly, regulations for surface water and groundwater challenge the conventional binary division between national and transnational law. As water moves across borders, decision-making in one nation incorporates external elements into the policy processes of other nations sharing the water. The aim of this paper is to illustrate the transnational elements within the wfd and to present two cases where external factors transcend national borders.
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Earle, J. R., S. Blacklocke, M. Bruen, G. Almeida, and D. Keating. "Integrating the implementation of the European Union Water Framework Directive and Floods Directive in Ireland." Water Science and Technology 64, no. 10 (2011): 2044–51. http://dx.doi.org/10.2166/wst.2011.669.
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Water Framework Directive (WFD) statutory authorities and stakeholders in Ireland are now challenged with the issue of how the proposed programmes of measures in the newly required River Basin Management Plans – designed to protect and restore good ecology by reverting as closely as possible back to natural conditions – are to be implemented in a way that concurrently complies with other existing and emerging intersecting European Union legislation, such as the Floods Directive (FD). The WFD is driven largely by ecological considerations, whereas the FD and other legislation are more geared towards protecting physical property and mitigating public safety risks. Thus many of the same waterbodies, especially heavily modified waterbodies, arguably have somewhat competing policy objectives put upon them. This paper explores the means by which Ireland might best achieve the highest degrees of cost effectiveness, economic efficiency and institutional durability in pursuing the common and overarching objective of the WFD and FD – to ensure Irish waterways are put to their highest valued uses.
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Theuvsen, Ludwig, and Henning Battermann. "Irrigation of farm land under the EU Water Framework Directive." Zeszyty Naukowe SGGW w Warszawie - Problemy Rolnictwa Światowego 11, no. 3 (2011): 137–45. http://dx.doi.org/10.22630/prs.2011.11.3.52.
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With the Water Framework Directive (WFD), the European Union has established a legal framework for the protection of all aquatic ecological systems, including groundwater. This directive may have advantages for the water regime in ecologically sensitive areas but may also bring some economic disadvantages for farmers. The economic implications of the WFD for irrigated agriculture with regard to various scenarios and the implementation of alternative water policy measures are analysed. The results show that demand for irrigation water, farmers’ reactions with regard to operational and strategic decisions and income effects strongly depend on the water policy measures implemented.
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Farmaki, Polytimi. "Water Framework Directive (An “Open up” Tool for Public Participation in Water Policy)." Academic Journal of Research and Scientific Publishing 3, no. 30 (2021): 06–20. http://dx.doi.org/10.52132/ajrsp.e.2021.301.
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The new EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) 2000/60 prescribes an adaptive water governance system and has been the European Union's most comprehensive tool for the management and protection of water resources. This article analyses how WFD encourages the active involvement of “all interested parties” and represents how public participation has a key role in successful implementation. The aim of this paper is to understand the functioning and effectiveness of the new model introduced to address the lack of implementation of EU environmental rules, as WFD since its introduction in 2000, requires member states to design and implement river basin management plans via participatory processes. Moreover, we have identified that Common Implementation Strategy of WFD was designed as a tool for public participation and stakeholder involvement to river basin management planning and how participatory approaches are implemented as the new "governance" within the EU in the field of environmental policy.
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Flindt Jørgensen, Lisbeth, Jens Christian Refsgaard, and Anker Lajer Højberg. "From science to practice in implementing the European Union’s Water Framework Directive." Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) Bulletin 15 (July 10, 2008): 81–84. http://dx.doi.org/10.34194/geusb.v15.5050.
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The Water Framework Directive (WFD) of the European Union aims to achieve a ‘good’ status for all inland and coastal waters by the year 2015 (EC 2000). The directive defines how this should be achieved through the establishment of environmental objectives and ecological targets. Successful implementation of the WFD requires integration into already existing national legislation and a sound combination of issues on technical feasibility, scientific knowledge and socio-economic aspects requiring intensive stakeholder involvement. This calls for appropriate tools such as models to support management of technical and social aspects of different phases of the implementation (Rekolainen et al. 2003; Quevauviller et al. 2005). It is therefore necessary to provide an overview of already existing methods and tools and develop new ones. Research programmes funded by the European Commission (EC) often address issues of current interest for practitioners, such as the Fifth Framework Programme, where a number of research projects to support the practical implementation of the WFD were initiated under the theme ‘Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development’. The funding part (the Directorate-General for Research, DG Research) and the responsible authority for the WFD at European level (Directorate-General of Environ ment) saw the need to cluster these research projects and related activities, and initiated the Harmoni-CA project, a socalled ‘Concerted Action’ (i.e. Harmonised Modelling Tools for Integrated River Basin Management). The objectives of this paper are (a) to briefly describe the overall purpose of the Harmoni-CA project and some of its overarching outputs, and (b) to further illustrate how the implementation of the WFD can be enhanced by combining monitoring and modelling disciplines and by bringing practitioners and researchers together.
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Mirra, Laura, Guido D'Urso, Giacomo Giannoccaro, Gianni Cicia, and Teresa Del Giudice. "Water Pricing in Agriculture following the Water Framework Directive: A Systematic Review of the Literature." International Journal on Food System Dynamics 12, no. 4 (2021): 327–40. https://doi.org/10.18461/ijfsd.v12i4.94.
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In October 2000, the Water Framework Directive (WFD) established a common framework for water management in Europe, thereby substantially reforming European water legislation. The Directive encourages the use of economic instruments, including water pricing, to ensure water resource management and conservation. The aim of this systematic review was to establish the state of academic research on water pricing in connection with the WFD within the agriculture sector. It emerges that the issue of water pricing is very broad, site-specific and mostly, it faces multidisciplinary issues. Researchers should cross their conventional boundaries of investigation, trying to cut edges. While the Directive advocate for a larger implementation of economic instruments such as pricing, it seems that the large contribution from the economists is yet to come.
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Vaes, G., P. Willems, P. Swartenbroekx, K. Kramer, W. de Lange, and K. Kober. "Science-policy interfacing in support of the Water Framework Directive implementation." Water Science and Technology 60, no. 1 (2009): 47–54. http://dx.doi.org/10.2166/wst.2009.285.
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Many current water-related RTD projects have established operational links with practitioners, which allow the needs of policy makers to be taken into account. However, RTD results are not easily available to water policy implementers and research scientists may lack insight in the needs of policy makers and implementers (i.e. the European Commission and water managers). The SPI-Water project worked out a number of concrete actions to bridge these gaps in communication by developing and implementing a ‘science-policy interface’, enhancing the use of RTD results in the Water Framework Directive (WFD) implementation. This project is part of a wider EC perspective aiming to bridge the gap between science and polity, specifically with respect to the WFD implementation. As a first action, existing science-policy links are investigated. RTD and LIFE projects that are of direct relevance for the implementation of the WFD are identified and analysed. Secondly, an information system (Harmoni-CA's WISE RTD Web Portal) has been further developed to cater for an efficient and easy to use tool for dissemination as well as retrieval of RTD results. As third action, this science-policy interfacing of WFD related topics are extended to non-EU countries taking into account their specific needs.
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Smith, Claire, Ross Fairley, Henry van Geen, Marcus Hoedl-Adick, Gauthier van Thuyne, and Debby de Roover. "Riding the New Wave of European Water Law: How Member States are Tackling the Water Framework Directive." European Energy and Environmental Law Review 11, Issue 8/9 (2002): 232–39. http://dx.doi.org/10.54648/5100865.
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The Water Framework Directive (WFD) has been heralded as the most significant piece of water legislation to come out of the European Union (“EU”) in the last 20 years and looks set to overhaul the way in which Member States will manage their water resources in the future. This article examines the key objectives of the WFD and gives a comparative overview of how England & Wales, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium are proposing to implement it.
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Engelen, Donné van, Christian Seidelin, Rob van der Veeren, David N. Barton, and Kabir Queb. "Cost-effectiveness analysis for the implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive." Water Policy 10, no. 3 (2008): 207–20. http://dx.doi.org/10.2166/wp.2008.041.
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The EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) prescribes cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) as an economic tool for the minimisation of costs when formulating programmes of measures to be implemented in the European river basins by the year 2009. The WFD does not specify, however, which approach to CEA has to be taken by the EU member states. In this paper the lack of a standardised approach to CEA for the implementation of the WFD is taken as the point of departure. The aim of the paper is to discuss and evaluate two pragmatic approaches to CEA based on case studies recently performed in The Netherlands and Denmark. The case studies allow for the comparison of a quantitative and a qualitative approach to CEA at the water body and river basin level and for an evaluation of the approaches in terms of their practical applicability, their transparency and the extent to which they render sound results for decision-making. Conclusions are drawn with regard to the suitability of the two approaches for the implementation of the EU WFD.
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Söderasp, Johanna, and Maria Pettersson. "Before and After the Weser Case: Legal Application of the Water Framework Directive Environmental Objectives in Sweden." Journal of Environmental Law 31, no. 2 (2019): 265–90. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jel/eqz003.
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Abstract The EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) prescribes environmental objectives and an adaptive water governance system. This article analyses the Swedish implementation of the WFD through a review of high-profile Swedish court cases regarding the application of the WFD environmental objectives in individual authorisation processes for water operations. The selection of court cases represents both the time before and after the Court of Justice of the European Union’s Weser case in 2015. The results indicate an inertial tendency in the legal application of the WFD environmental objectives in Swedish courts, including a reluctance to fully apply EU law as interpreted by the CJEU. The overall conclusion is that traditional legal certainty aspects often trump flexibility and a high level of environmental protection as desired in the adaptive water governance system of the WFD. This raises questions about judicial preconceptions and the procedural autonomy of the Member States vis-à-vis the ‘effet utile’ of EU law through judicial implementation.
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Möckel, Stefan. "Small Water Bodies and the Incomplete Implementation of the Water Framework Directive in Germany." Journal for European Environmental & Planning Law 10, no. 3 (2013): 262–75. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/18760104-01003005.
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Under the Water Framework Directive (WFD), the European Union obliged all member states to protect all their surface water and restore it to a good condition by 2015. For administrative reasons, they must subdivide their surface water into water bodies and define water body types. The Directive proposes minimum sizes for water bodies. Like some other member states, Germany has interpreted this to mean that small rivers, often called headwaters, and small ponds and lakes need not be identified and delineated as a water body and therefore do not fall under the protection system of the WFD. This paper analyses whether the German interpretation and implementation can be considered correct, given that small surface water elements are not unimportant. In Germany, they account for two-thirds of the overall length of rivers. Like the little twigs of a tree, small rivers have a decisive impact on the whole river basin.
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Starke, Jan R., and Helena F. M. W. Van Rijswick. "Exemptions of the EU Water Framework Directive Deterioration Ban: Comparing Implementation Approaches in Lower Saxony and The Netherlands." Sustainability 13, no. 2 (2021): 930. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su13020930.
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The sustainable use of precious water resources requires effective water management. In the European Union, water management is mainly regulated by the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC), introducing an integrated river basin management approach. As a European Union (EU) directive, the legislation needs to be implemented in the Member States, entailing not only legal transposition but also application and enforcement. One major instrument introduced by the Water Framework Directive is the environmental goal achievement obligation of article 4 WFD, containing also a deterioration ban with several exemptions. We compare the transposition, application, and enforcement of the exemption of permanent deterioration (art. 4 (7) WFD) in the context of the environmental goal achievement obligation regime in Lower Saxony (Germany) and the Netherlands. The study rests on a comparative legal analysis of literature, river basin management plans, and jurisprudence. Although based on the same EU directive wording and case law of the European Court of Justice, the deterioration ban and the exemption of permanent deterioration are implemented rather differently. While the deterioration ban is predominantly understood as planning obligation in the Netherlands, it became an important permit requirement in Lower Saxony since the Weser ruling of the European Court of Justice.
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Stefanidis, Konstantinos, Anthi Oikonomou, Maria Stoumboudi, Elias Dimitriou, and Nikolaos Skoulikidis. "Do Water Bodies Show Better Ecological Status in Natura 2000 Protected Areas Than Non-Protected Ones?—The Case of Greece." Water 13, no. 21 (2021): 3007. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/w13213007.
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Regardless of the efforts of the European Union, freshwaters are in a state of environmental crisis. The Water Framework Directive has established a basis for the protection and restoration of European inland and coastal waters. In parallel, the Birds and Habitats Directives protect, maintain or restore, at favourable conservation status, selected species and habitats under a representative network of protected areas. Hence, the interplay between the EU regulations is of high scientific interest and practical relevance. In this article, Greece is used as a case study to explore whether anticipated synergies between the Water Framework Directive and the Nature Directives result in a better ecological status in the protected areas than in the non-protected ones. We investigated whether the ecological qualities that are defined by three biological quality elements (BQEs) differ between the WFD monitoring sites that are located within the Natura 2000 protected areas and those that are not. We identified a total of 148 river monitoring sites that are located within the Natura 2000 network, which corresponds to 30% of the WFD monitoring network. By employing ordered logit models for each BQE, we found that the ecological quality has the same likelihood to fail the WFD target of “good” quality for sites that are located within and outside the Natura 2000 protected areas. Our results confirmed our hypothesis that the EU directives have little synergy when it comes to restoration of ecological status of Greek running waters, according to the WFD.
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Farmaki, Polytimi, and Apostolos Tranoulidis. "WATER POLICY IN GREECE: MANAGEMENT AND PRICING UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF THE EUROPEAN WATER FRAMEWORK DIRECTIVE 2000/60/EC." CBU International Conference Proceedings 6 (September 24, 2018): 107–12. http://dx.doi.org/10.12955/cbup.v6.1141.
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This paper is related to Greece’s water policy as it was formulated after the incorporation of Water Framework Directive (WFD) 2000/60. We examined the status and evolution of constitutional provisions for the protection and management of water resources spanning from the first Greek Constitution of 1843 up to the current constitutional text of 1975 as formulated in 2008 with the incorporation of its third revision. In parallel, we investigated the Greek water pricing legal framework in accordance with Article 9 "Recovery of costs for water services" of the WFD. We compared the actual rates of water services as set by Municipal Water Supply Sewerage Companies (DEYAs) operating in 11 cities across Greece. The findings reveal that there are considerable problems and delays in the implementation of WFD. Regarding municipal water pricing policies, we concluded that DEYAs do not follow a unified and structured pricing scheme. Furthermore, several companies do not discriminate between data costs either per service (water supply, sewerage) or per use (water supply, irrigation, etc.). Finally, it is evident that none of them has yet adopted the relevant provisions set by the European directive for full cost recovery and water pricing reflecting financial, environmental and water resources costs.
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Pérez Zabaleta, Amelia, and Monica Borrat Sanjuan. "role of the Water Framework Directive in enhancing water use efficiency in the EU." European Journal of Government and Economics 13, no. 2 (2024): 136–64. https://doi.org/10.17979/ejge.2024.13.2.10003.
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The increasing economic activity, population growth and urbanisation are placing increasing stress on Europe’s freshwater resources. The European Union's Water Framework Directive (WFD) aimed to establish measures to foster efficient use of this valuable natural resource while simultaneously protecting the environment. This study allows for an assessment of the Directive's application of public policies to a natural resource, assuming that the efficiency of water use is measured by water productivity. For the purposes of this investigation, purely economic variables and specific variables pertaining to the implementation of the WFD will be considered. The final econometric model indicates that variables with a positive impact, including research and development (R&D) expenditure and the governance index, necessitate the updating of facilities, the implementation of public control of the resource, and the encouragement of citizen interest in influencing EU policies. Conversely, variables with a negative impact, including population density and water consumption, indicate that as the utilization of a given resource intensifies, the efficacy of that utilization diminishes. The analysis by country indicates that the northern and more industrialised economies have more efficient water use levels. The evolution over time demonstrates that the WFD is being implemented more extensively in regions where it is most needed, resulting in increased productivity values in areas where they are currently lower.
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Dodič, J., and A. Bizjak. "Economic analysis in the process of the preparation of river basin management plans in Slovenia: the Drava River Basin pilot study." Water Science and Technology 59, no. 2 (2009): 353–58. http://dx.doi.org/10.2166/wst.2009.885.
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According to the EU Directive 2000/60/EC (Water Framework Directive, hereinafter called: WFD), several steps have to be worked out on the way towards the good water status. For this goal, some of the main elements of the river basin management plans are the programme of measures. The programme of measures has to include basic and supplementary measures. In addition, it has to check the implementation of European Directives into the national law and has to estimate the effects of these rules on the quality of the water bodies. If these regulations are not sufficient to reach the good status of water, supplementary measures have to be applied. The paper gives an overview of how basic and supplementary measures for wastewater treatment were considered in the Drava River Basin. The main stress is given to the implementation of the EU Directive 91/271/EEC (the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive, hereinafter called: UWWTD), as part of the basic measures as defined in Annex VI of WFD and its results in the Drava River Basin.
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Buelow, Franca Angela. "Doing Everything You Can, but Not (yet) Getting it Right: Challenges to Brussels' Great Expectations for Water Quality1." Case Studies in the Environment 1, no. 1 (2017): 1–6. http://dx.doi.org/10.1525/cse.2017.sc.452733.
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To arrive at a good status of all European water bodies is the main objective of the European Union (EU) Water Framework Directive (WFD). Since its adoption in 2000, the policy has fundamentally changed the institutional, procedural and organizational structures of Member States' water management, leading to an Europeanization of national legislation and decision-making structures. The case of WFD implementation in Schleswig-Holstein is an example of the policy's highly innovative governance architecture that unfortunately is not (yet) able to take that one last hurdle: to improve water quality and establish a good water status across EU Member States by 2015 or 2027.
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Cruz, J. Virgílio, Carla Melo, Dina Medeiros, et al. "Water management and planning in a small island archipelago: the Azores case study (Portugal) in the context of the Water Framework Directive." Water Policy 19, no. 6 (2017): 1097–118. http://dx.doi.org/10.2166/wp.2017.187.
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Abstract Water management is critical in small islands such as the Azores (Portugal), and the present paper address changes that have occurred in the last decades through national constitutional arrangements and the adoption of the Water Framework Directive (WFD). The WFD provided an opportunity to implement integrated river basin planning, whose main results are also discussed, surpassing early approaches mainly focused on complying with European Union sanitation goals and eutrophication control. Therefore, new policies emerged, and take into account exemptions that all water bodies will comply with WFD environmental objectives by 2027 (83.7% in 2015). The main constraints are the result of (1) insufficient funding, (2) lack of empowerment by water authority, and (3) no consideration of the economic dimension.
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Samarinas, Nikiforos, Marios Spiliotopoulos, Nikolaos Tziolas, and Athanasios Loukas. "Synergistic Use of Earth Observation Driven Techniques to Support the Implementation of Water Framework Directive in Europe: A Review." Remote Sensing 15, no. 8 (2023): 1983. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rs15081983.
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The development of a sustainable water quality monitoring system at national scale remains a big challenge until today, acting as a hindrance for the efficient implementation of the Water Framework Directive (WFD). This work provides valuable insights into the current state-of-the-art Earth Observation (EO) tools and services, proposing a synergistic use of innovative remote sensing technologies, in situ sensors, and databases, with the ultimate goal to support the European Member States in effective WFD implementation. The proposed approach is based on a recent research and scientific analysis for a six-year period (2017–2022) after reviewing 71 peer-reviewed articles in international journals coupled with the scientific results of 11 European-founded research projects related to EO and WFD. Special focus is placed on the EO data sources (spaceborne, in situ, etc.), the sensors in use, the observed water Quality Elements as well as on the computer science techniques (machine/deep learning, artificial intelligence, etc.). The combination of the different technologies can offer, among other things, low-cost monitoring, an increase in the monitored Quality Elements per water body, and a minimization of the percentage of water bodies with unknown ecological status.
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Masouras, Andreas, Ioannis Karaouzas, Elias Dimitriou, George Tsirtsis, and Evangelia Smeti. "Benthic Diatoms in River Biomonitoring—Present and Future Perspectives within the Water Framework Directive." Water 13, no. 4 (2021): 478. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/w13040478.
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The European Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC (WFD) has been implemented over the past 20 years, using physicochemical, biological and hydromorphological elements to assess the ecological status of surface waters. Benthic diatoms (i.e., phytobenthos) are one of the most common biological quality elements (BQEs) used in surface water monitoring and are particularly successful in detecting eutrophication, organic pollution and acidification. Herein, we reviewed their implementation in river biomonitoring for the purposes of the WFD, highlighting their advantages and disadvantages over other BQEs, and we discuss recent advances that could be applied in future biomonitoring. Until now, phytobenthos have been intercalibrated by the vast majority (26 out of 28) of EU Member States (MS) in 54% of the total water bodies assessed and was the most commonly used BQE after benthic invertebrates (85% of water bodies), followed by fish (53%), macrophytes (27%) and phytoplankton (4%). To meet the WFD demands, numerous taxonomy-based quality indices have been developed among MS, presenting, however, uncertainties possibly related to species biogeography. Recent development of different types of quality indices (trait-based, DNA sequencing and predictive modeling) could provide more accurate results in biomonitoring, but should be validated and intercalibrated among MS before their wide application in water quality assessments.
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Alcon, Francisco, J. Martin-Ortega, J. Berbel, and M. D. de Miguel. "Environmental benefits of reclaimed water: an economic assessment in the context of the Water Framework Directive." Water Policy 14, no. 1 (2011): 148–59. http://dx.doi.org/10.2166/wp.2011.001.
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The European Water Framework Directive (WFD) prescribes that all water bodies in Europe should achieve ‘good ecological status’ (GES). Maintaining a certain water flow is a pre-condition for the achievement of GES in areas of water scarcity. In such areas, reclaimed waste water is seen as a promising measure to keep river flow at a sufficient level. The contingent valuation method is applied here to estimate the non-market environmental benefits of using reclaimed water to maintain river flow levels in the Segura River Basin in south-eastern Spain. The assessment of the economic benefits of specific measures gives policy makers more information than a cost-effectiveness analysis alone, which is currently the most commonly used tool to assess potential measures under the WFD. The results show that the implementation of this measure produces significant non-market benefits that are larger than the investment and operational costs of reclaimed water treatment plants.
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Diogo, Bárbara S., Sara Rodrigues, Nelson Silva, Ivo Pinto, and Sara C. Antunes. "Evidence for Links between Feeding Behavior of Daphnia magna and Water Framework Directive Elements: Case Study of Crestuma-Lever Reservoir." Water 14, no. 24 (2022): 3989. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/w14243989.
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The Water Framework Directive (WFD) is the European legislation on water policy that assesses water quality according to time-consuming metrics and specific taxonomic needs. In this sense, the objective of this study was to evaluate the sensitivity of Daphnia magna feeding rate assays to assess/discriminate the water quality of heavily modified and artificial water bodies. Monthly, for one year, the quality of the Crestuma-Lever reservoir (in two sampling sites: Crestuma and Marina) was assessed using physical, chemical, and biological (concentration of chlorophyll-a) elements proposed by the WFD. Additionally, D. magna was exposed to the collected water samples and the feeding rates were evaluated to include an ecosystem function evaluation in water quality assessment. The WFD metrics showed that, overall, the Crestuma-Lever reservoir has a rating of Good to Moderate Ecological Potential, regardless of site. Feeding rates varied with the sampling site and months, demonstrating that feeding behavior evaluation is a sensitive tool that allows discriminate potential effects indicative of a lower water quality. This finding was recorded by the decrease in the feeding rate (Crestuma: May, Sept; Marina: Nov, Jan, May), despite the WFD classification, and once the organisms are affected by the components present in the water samples.
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Lindhout, P. E., and H. F. M. W. van Rijswick. "The Effectiveness of the Principle of Recovery of the Costs of Water Services Jeopardized by the European Court of Justice – Annotations on the Judgment in C-525/12." Journal for European Environmental & Planning Law 12, no. 1 (2015): 80–94. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/18760104-01201006.
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In Case C-525/12 the European Court of Justice concludes that cost recovery for water services as outlined in Article 9 of the Water Framework Directive is only one of the instruments for Member States to strive for a rational water use. It furthermore concludes that the wfd environmental objectives not necessarily imply that cost recovery should be applicable to all water-related activities mentioned in Article 2 (38) wfd. In this underlying contribution a number of critical remarks to this judgment are provided. In view of the authors, the European Court of Justice reduces the effectivity of the cost recovery principle too rigorously by reducing the principle of cost recovery for water services to a practically voluntary tool for Member States.
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Nikolaidis, Nikolaos P., Leeda Demetropoulou, Jochen Froebrich, et al. "Towards sustainable management of Mediterranean river basins: policy recommendations on management aspects of temporary streams." Water Policy 15, no. 5 (2013): 830–49. http://dx.doi.org/10.2166/wp.2013.158.
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In 2011, the European Council stressed the significance of water quality for sustainable development in Europe and emphasized the need for better integration of the water policy objectives into the Common Agriculture Policy reform in rural areas. Since 2000, the Water Framework Directive (WFD) has required the EU Member States to target good ecological status for their water bodies. However, the implementation of the Directive for the numerous Mediterranean temporary streams has been delayed indicating the need for elaboration of the tools and methods that address the special characteristics of such water bodies. This requirement has been addressed by the recently completed MIRAGE project. In the context of the recent publication of the European Commission's Blueprint to Safeguard Europe's Waters, the MIRAGE-proposed framework for the characterization of the eco-hydrological dynamics and the systematic description of the measured impact for temporary rivers could bring considerable added value to the EU revision of all relevant water policies. The project recommends additions to WFD articles including an explicit definition of temporary rivers, adaptation of environmental objectives to their peculiarities and establishment of a proper method to determine the initial status and specific actions in River Basin Management Plans.
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Meyer, Claas, and Andreas Thiel. "Institutional change in water management collaboration: implementing the European Water Framework Directive in the German Odra river basin." Water Policy 14, no. 4 (2012): 625–46. http://dx.doi.org/10.2166/wp.2012.011.
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The Water Framework Directive (WFD) is in the process of restructuring the European water policy towards river basin management (RBM). The transposition of the WFD requires institutional change in order to comply with its substantive and procedural requirements. This paper investigates changes in water management collaboration in a federally organised Member State with regard to the configuration of involved actors and the spatial scale at which issues are considered. Based on qualitative methods, the paper presents a case study of the German Odra river basin and the governance of nutrient pollution whose origins are located all along the river and which specifically impacts coastal zones. We looked at actors most relevant to this management problem, that is, public administrations operating within different administrative boundaries, the agricultural sector and environmental non-governmental organisations (NGOs). In order to capture institutional change, a conceptual framework was constructed to evaluate changes in collaboration on three interrelated levels: formal institutional change, informal institutional change and changes in actors’ mental models. We explain complex institutional change as a product of multiple dynamics, which includes the content of shared mental models and a benefit–cost calculation that takes transaction costs into consideration.
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Mostert, Erik. "Law and Politics in River Basin Management: The Implementation of the Water Framework Directive in The Netherlands." Water 12, no. 12 (2020): 3367. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/w12123367.
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This article discusses the implementation of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) in the Netherlands and shows how law and politics combine in river basin management. Initially, the implementation of the WFD in the Netherlands was approached as a technical and administrative issue, handled by water quality and ecology experts, but, in 2003, this approach was broken open by the agricultural sector, who feared stricter regulation. Subsequently, the environmental objectives of the WFD were set as low as possible and they play no role when authorising new projects. In July 2015, however, the European Court of Justice determined that the environmental objectives have a binding effect and that Member States have to refuse authorisation of projects that jeopardise the achievement of these objectives. This example shows the important role that law as a social phenomenon or “field” can play in river basin management, provided the courts enjoy sufficient social and political support and function relatively independently, as they do in the Netherlands. The article discusses the origin of the juridical field and its relation with politics and concludes that, to understand river basin management fully, it is essential to understand how (water) law functions.
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Berkhoff, K. "Groundwater vulnerability assessment to assist the measurement planning of the water framework directive – a practical approach with stakeholders." Hydrology and Earth System Sciences Discussions 4, no. 3 (2007): 1133–51. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/hessd-4-1133-2007.
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Abstract. An evaluation scheme is presented in this paper which can be used to assess groundwater vulnerability according to the requirements of the European Water Framework Directive (WFD). The evaluation scheme results in a groundwater vulnerability map identifying areas of high, medium and low vulnerability, as necessary for the measurement planning of the WFD. The evaluation scheme is based on the definition of the vulnerability of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). It considers exposure, sensitivity and the adaptive capacity of the region. The adaptive capacity is evaluated in an actors' platform, which was constituted for the region in the PartizipA ("Participative modelling, Actor and Ecosystem Analysis in Regions with Intensive Agriculture") project. As a result of the vulnerability assessment, 21% of the catchment area was classified as being highly vulnerable, whereas 73% has medium vulnerability and 6% has low vulnerability. Thus, a groundwater vulnerability assessment approach is presented, which can be used in practice on a catchment scale for the WFD measurement planning.
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Boikova, Elmīra, Uldis Botva, and Vita Līcīte. "Implementation of Trophic Status Index in Brackish Water Quality Assessment of Baltic Coastal Waters." Proceedings of the Latvian Academy of Sciences. Section B. Natural, Exact, and Applied Sciences. 62, no. 3 (2008): 115–19. http://dx.doi.org/10.2478/v10046-008-0016-z.
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Implementation of Trophic Status Index in Brackish Water Quality Assessment of Baltic Coastal Waters The assessment of the trophic state of marine coastal waters is one of the leading initiatives declared in the European Water Framework Directive (WFD). The Baltic Sea is a semi-enclosed ecosystem which consists of subregions with wide salinity and seasonality gradients. Anthropogenic impact results in eutrophication processes on different scales. Efficient eutrophication control and environmental management in the Baltic Sea, according to WFD, requires a prerequisite of common and sensitive indicators for the European coastal waters including the Baltic Sea. In this article the Trophic Status Index TRIX, recently succcesfully implemented in Mediterranean and Northern European sea coastal waters as a holistic approach indicator, was implemented for the Gulf of Rīga and Latvian Baltic Sea coastal water quality assessment between 1999 and 2005.
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Kanakoudis, V., and S. Tsitsifli. "On-going evaluation of the WFD 2000/60/EC implementation process in the European Union, seven years after its launch: are we behind schedule?" Water Policy 12, no. 1 (2009): 70–91. http://dx.doi.org/10.2166/wp.2009.092.
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Although the European Union (EU) has made some considerable progress regarding protection of water resources (tackling significant problems at national and at EU level), increased efforts are still needed to get and keep its waters clean. After 30 years of developing EU water legislation, all the involved stakeholders express this demand. In 2000, the Water Framework Directive (WFD) 2000/60/EC, establishing a framework for Community actions regarding protection of water resources, was adopted. Its implementation is now well underway, as most of the EU-Member States have fulfilled their current obligations of submitting their reports. An on-going evaluation of the WFD implementation process is attempted here, based on all available data seven years after its launch. Special focus is given to Greece regarding problems that have occurred.
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Akinsete, Ebun, Stella Apostolaki, Nikos Chatzistamoulou, Phoebe Koundouri, and Stella Tsani. "The Link between Ecosystem Services and Human Wellbeing in the Implementation of the European Water Framework Directive: Assessing Four River Basins in Europe." Water 11, no. 3 (2019): 508. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/w11030508.
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: This paper explores the relationship between the environment and human wellbeing whilst considering water resource pressures in the context of ecosystem services, before assessing the management actions to facilitate human wellbeing under the European Union’s Water Framework Directive (WFD). By focusing on four river basins in four European countries currently working to implement the WFD, we explore the effects of multiple pressures faced within each one on human wellbeing. Under an Ecosystem Services framework, we identify those effects and consolidate them into Human Wellbeing Factors to assess the management actions. Then, by conducting a qualitative content analysis, we assess the effectiveness of each Program of Measures at river basin level and relate them to Human Wellbeing Factors. Findings indicate that factors such as population growth trends intensify the effects of these pressures on human wellbeing. Finally, the paper pinpoints that human wellbeing must remain an ever-present consideration to be weighed against any other competing policy objectives.
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Heinz, I. "Co-operative agreements and the EU Water Framework Directive in conjunction with the Common Agricultural Policy." Hydrology and Earth System Sciences Discussions 4, no. 3 (2007): 1593–624. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/hessd-4-1593-2007.
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Abstract. This paper discusses the significance of voluntary arrangements for the water and agricultural policies in the European Union. The current implementation of the European Water Framework Directive (WFD) and the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) require new approaches in water management. As many case studies have shown, co-operative agreements (CAs) between water companies, farmers and authorities can help to reduce environmental pressures on water bodies. The main reasons for that are: i) water companies are ready to advise and financially support farmers in changing production methods; ii) changes of farming practices are tailored to the site-specific requirements; iii) farmers and water companies are interested in minimising the costs and environmental pressures as they benefit, for example, from modernization of farming methods, and reductions in cost of water treatment, and iv) voluntarily agreed commitments to change farming practices are often stricter than statutory rules. Moreover, precautionary rather than remedial measures are preferred. Tackling diffuse pollution is one of the main concerns of the WFD. CAs can enhance the cost-effectiveness of actions within the programmes of measures so that good water status is achieved by 2015. In CAs all relevant stakeholders, located in catchment areas of agricultural usage, can be involved. Thus, they can help to foster integrated water resources management. In particular, disproportionate costs of changing farming practices can be identified. With regard to the recent CAP reform, financial support for farmers will be linked to compliance with environmental standards and further commitments. This concerns both direct payments and agri-environmental programmes. The experience gained in CAs can provide information on best agricultural practices. Informed farmers are more ready to meet environmental requirements. Because CAs implement the most cost-effective changes in farming practice, it can be assumed that farmers will not face considerable costs due to the new EU water and agricultural policies. Some examples of CAs are described and the significance of CAs in the implementation of the WFD and CAP reform will be highlighted. The article closes with an outlook on the needs of future research activities.
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Heinz, I. "Co-operative agreements and the EU Water Framework Directive in conjunction with the Common Agricultural Policy." Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 12, no. 3 (2008): 715–26. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/hess-12-715-2008.
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Abstract. This paper discusses the significance of voluntary arrangements for the water and agricultural policies in the European Union. The current implementation of the European Water Framework Directive (WFD) and the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) require new approaches in water management. As many case studies have shown, co-operative agreements (CAs) between water companies, farmers and authorities can help to reduce environmental pressures on water bodies. The main reasons for that are: i) water companies are ready to advise and financially support farmers in changing production methods; ii) changes of farming practices are tailored to the site-specific requirements; iii) farmers and water companies are interested in minimising the costs and environmental pressures as they benefit, for example, from modernization of farming methods, and reductions in cost of water treatment, and iv) voluntarily agreed commitments to change farming practices are often stricter than statutory rules. Moreover, precautionary rather than remedial measures are preferred. Tackling diffuse pollution is one of the main concerns of the WFD. CAs can enhance the cost-effectiveness of actions within the programmes of measures so that good water status is achieved by 2015. In CAs all relevant stakeholders, located in catchment areas of agricultural usage, can be involved. Thus, they can help to foster integrated water resources management. In particular, disproportionate costs of changing farming practices can be identified. With regard to the recent CAP reform, financial support for farmers will be linked to compliance with environmental standards and further commitments. This concerns both direct payments and agri-environmental programmes. The experience gained in CAs can provide information on best agricultural practices. Informed farmers are more ready to meet environmental requirements. Because CAs implement the most cost-effective changes in farming practice, it can be assumed that farmers will not face considerable costs due to the new EU water and agricultural policies. Some examples of CAs are described and the significance of CAs in the implementation of the WFD and CAP reform will be highlighted. The article closes with an outlook on the needs of future research activities.
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van den Brink, Cors, and Susanne Wuijts. "Towards an effective protection of groundwater resources: putting policy into practice with the drinking water protection file." Water Policy 18, no. 3 (2015): 635–53. http://dx.doi.org/10.2166/wp.2015.197.
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Groundwater in the Netherlands is a major resource for drinking water. As such it must be carefully monitored and managed. Evaluation of the European Water Framework Directive (EU-WFD) showed that protection of this valuable resource needs improvement. The Drinking Water Protection File identifies necessary measures needed per water abstraction site. The Protection File is part of the Dutch national EU-WFD implementation strategy, intended to improve the protection level of groundwater resources. It consists of a national top-down framework and a regional bottom-up process, which respectively enforces commitment and enhances stakeholder awareness regarding risks and actions needed regarding the identification and implementation of measures enhancing the protection level of groundwater resources. It is yet uncertain whether the initial implementation of the measures in the first planning cycle is adequate to obtain compliance with EU-WFD objectives in 2021, because (i) some of these measures are on a voluntary basis and (ii) standards for the remediation of point source pollution and allowed application of nutrients do not currently comply with drinking water standards.
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Reese, Moritz. "Transformation to Healthy Water Ecology—Institutional Requirements, Deficits and Options in European and German Perspective." Sustainability 13, no. 6 (2021): 3368. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su13063368.
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The EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) obliges EU Member States to achieve good ecological status in all surface waters by 2027 at the latest. In many regions, this implies fundamental transformation from engineered water landscapes back to near-natural structures. By example of the German State of Lower Saxony it is shown how this transformation of water landscapes essentially requires a transformation of the institutional foundations of water management, too. It is argued from a legal perspective that certain general, justiciable minimum requirements are to be deduced from the WFD as to (1) planning and enforcement of restoration measures, (2) land acquisition, (3) organisation and (4) finance which delimit the ample margins Member States enjoy in designing the institutional substructure. With regard to Lower Saxony, it is explained why this State is clearly failing to meet the minimum requirements and how it needs to transform its institutional arrangements to make them fit for purpose. The article concludes that WFD enforcement should pay more attention to the institutional underpinning and it submits that examples and benchmarks should be further explored by comparative research.
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Fürhacker, M. "The Water Framework Directive – can we reach the target?" Water Science and Technology 57, no. 1 (2008): 9–17. http://dx.doi.org/10.2166/wst.2008.797.
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The WFD is an overarching piece of legislation that aims to harmonize existing European water policy; since 2000 it requires managing the river basins so that the quality and quantity of water does not affect the ecological services and to promote sustainable water use of any specific water body. Nevertheless the goals of other directives, such as drinking water, bathing water and urban wastewater treatment (UWWT), are not yet harmonised mainly concerning microbiological and PS/PSR/PHS contamination. Great challenges are due to emerging contaminants especially the technical improvement and harmonisation for risk identification and risk assessment: for biological effects and for chemical analysis and, finally integrate this knowledge to preserve the “good status”. The methodologies implemented have as aim the identification of acceptable or unacceptable risks. This identification provides the basis for the regulatory decisions, which follow from the risk assessment. After priority setting the UWWT needs to be adjusted and existing or new treatment options should comply with the requirements of the different directives. This will be another step on the way to reach the targets given in EU water legislation and in the achievements of millennium development goals.
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Pasztaleniec, Agnieszka. "Phytoplankton in the ecological status assessment of European lakes – advantages and constraints." Ochrona Srodowiska i Zasobów Naturalnych 27, no. 1 (2016): 26–36. http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/oszn-2016-0004.
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AbstractAlthough the phytoplankton indices describing the response of phytoplankton to the eutrophication have been developed and used for many years in the routine lake monitoring programme in some countries, the implementation of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) [EC, 2000] stimulated the development and improvement of quite a number of the current WFD-compliant phytoplankton-based methods. This paper is a review of the current phytoplankton-based methods for assessing the ecological status of European lakes. The particular attention was paid to the ways of solving problems arising from the need to reflect the complex and dynamic plankton algal communities on a numerical scale in order to gain reliable information about the state of the ecosystem.
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Heiskanen, A. S., W. van de Bund, A. C. Cardoso, and P. Nõges. "Towards good ecological status of surface waters in Europe - interpretation and harmonisation of the concept." Water Science and Technology 49, no. 7 (2004): 169–77. http://dx.doi.org/10.2166/wst.2004.0447.
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The Water Framework Directive (WFD) is a new legislative framework to manage, use, protect, and restore surface water and groundwater resources and coastal waters in the European Union (EU). The aim is to ensure sustainable water management and to reach good water quality by 2015. The assessment of the ecological status and setting of the practical management goals require several steps. The process has started with the characterisation of the river basins including identification of surface water bodies and types, and identification of significant anthropogenic pressures and impacts. The water bodies will be classified in five quality classes (high, good, moderate, poor, bad) based on the Ecological Quality Ratio, which is a ratio between reference conditions and measured status of the biological quality elements. The normative criteria for high, good and moderate ecological status described in the WFD need to be made operational because those will be used to set the practical quality targets for surface water management. National ecological assessment systems and classifications will be harmonised through the WFD intercalibration exercise in order to ensure an equal level of ambition in achieving good surface waters status all over Europe.
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Brils, Jos. "Including sediment in European River Basin Management Plans: twenty years of work by SedNet." Journal of Soils and Sediments 20, no. 12 (2020): 4229–37. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11368-020-02782-1.
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Abstract Purpose This paper describes the efforts made by SedNet—the European Sediment Network—to generate attention for the inclusion of sediment in River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs) under the European Water Framework Directive (WFD). Materials and methods The SedNet response to key WFD implementation events is described using the “three-streams and windows-of-opportunities model” published by John Kingdon in 1995. Results and discussion SedNet was initially a response to the realization that the WFD—which came into force in 2000—largely neglected sediment. For SedNet, it was clear from the beginning that the WFD objectives can be achieved only if sediment is included in RBMPs. The SedNet efforts inspired the establishment of a sediment management concept for the Elbe river basin. That concept was used as a basis for the full inclusion of sediment in the second Elbe RBMP (2015–2021). SedNet experts are currently involved in the drafting of the WFD Common Implementation Strategy (CIS) sediment document which will be completed in 2021 and that will provide guidance about how to include sediment in RBMPs. Conclusions Since 2000, SedNet has persistently drawn attention to the need to include sediment in RBMPs. However, it was not until 2015 that the Elbe became the first European river basin to include sediment management fully in their RBMP. The 2021 WFD CIS sediment document and the focus on sediment in the Water Fitness Check in 2019 make it significantly more likely that the sediment will be included in the updates of WFD RBMPs in the near future.
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Pissaridou, Panayiota, Athina Papatheodoulou, Gregoris Notarides, et al. "Novel DNA-based test for the identification of benthic diatoms of European freshwater waterbodies (WAT-DIMON)." ARPHA Conference Abstracts 4 (March 4, 2021): e65203. https://doi.org/10.3897/aca.4.e65203.
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Diatoms are unicellular eukaryotic organisms, which have been exploited over the years for effective freshwater bioassessment. Therefore, they are excellent bioindicators, routinely used in national environmental monitoring programs all over Europe within the Water Framework Directive (WFD) 2000/60 /EC (Foster et al., 2000) and CEN standards (CEN, 2018).Over the years, new technologies have been introduced to this field to maximise and improve the time and cost required for freshwater bioassessment. The application of DNA metabarcoding for the characterisation of benthic diatom communities for WFD was recently introduced (Vasselon et al. 2017, Kelly et al. 2018). Through this technique, the identification of the species present in one environmental sample, is established using genetic variability and is characterised by a short DNA fragment called a barcode (Vasselon et al., 2019).The Wat-Dimon Eurostars project aim at creating a novel genomic test for the identification of European benthic diatoms. This new DNA-based test could be routinely implemented in national environmental monitoring programs all over Europe within the Water Framework Directive (WFD) 2000/60 /EC and CEN standards. In the near future, metabarcoding can complement and/or replace the traditional ecological assessments based on the morpho-taxonomy methodology approach needing taxonomic expertise and been subjected to scientific bias. Additionally, the project aims at developing a complementary bioinformatics tool for the biotechnological interpretation of the results. Such product will allow the prompt response to the environmental needs, the early assessment of environmental quality and early treatment response. The study will be developed and validated along a longitudinal gradient in the south part of Europe (Portugal, Spain, Cyprus), including four different biogeographical regions (Macaronesia, Atlantic, Alpine and Mediterranean). The method will cover all steps, from sampling and DNA extraction of diatom assemblages and amplification of DNA barcodes using universal primers for diatoms. The amplified products will be sequenced using Illumina MiSeq. Then, existing bioinformatic pipelines will be adjusted to quality-filter the high number of sequences from the samples and identify them by comparison with reference databases (Diat.Barcode, BOLD, GenBank). Enhancing these databases with diatom species prevalent in the different biogeographical regions assayed will be essential as existing databases are biased to more northerly regions and do not take into consideration harsh, extreme climatic conditions which are prominent in the Mediterranean and Macaronesia regions (Fig. 1). The project focuses on the <em>rbc</em>L gene and will used 18S gene only as an alternative or complementary tool if any problematic taxa appear. CEN, 2018. CEN/TR 17245: Water quality – Technical report for the routine sampling of benthic diatoms from rivers and lakes adapted for metabarcoding analyses. CEN/TC 230/WG 23 – Aquat. Macrophytes Algae 1–8. https://doi.org/CEN/TR 17245:2018Foster, D., Wood, A., Griffiths, M., 2000. THE WATER FRAMEWORK DIRECTIVE (2000/60/EC) – AN INTRODUCTION Dave Foster – Policy Advisor (Europe), Aram Wood EP Scientist (Water), Dr Martin Griffiths – Head of Water Quality, Environment Agency, Head Office, Rio House, Waterside Drive, Aztec West, Almon 7–9.Kelly et al. (2018). A DNA based diatom metabarcoding approach for Water Framework Directive classification of rivers. Environment Agency.Vasselon et al. (2017). Assessing ecological status with diatoms DNA metabarcoding: Scaling-up on a WFD monitoring network (Mayotte island, France). Ecological Indicators. 82:1-12Vasselon, V., Rimet, F., Domaizon, I., Monnier, O., Reyjol, Y., Bouchez, A., 2019. Assessing pollution of aquatic environments with diatoms' DNA metabarcoding: Experience and developments from France Water Framework Directive networks. Metabarcoding and Metagenomics 3, 101–115. https://doi.org/10.3897/mbmg.3.39646
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Eleftheriadou, Eleni, and Yannis Mylopoulos. "A methodological framework supporting trans-boundary water agreements: the case of the Nestos/Mesta river basin." Water Policy 10, no. 3 (2008): 239–57. http://dx.doi.org/10.2166/wp.2008.148.
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Management of trans-boundary river basins is a major issue that has attracted great attention in recent years. The European Water Framework Directive (WFD) recommends management at a river basin level, overlooking any national or administrative borders. This new managerial approach impels water managers to disregard the trans-boundary nature of the water resources while considering an integrated river basin where only geographical boundaries exist. The new challenge for scientists and water managers is the establishment of water agreements between countries sharing water resources. These agreements should aim at the settlement of tensions and conflicts while providing the essential framework for cooperation and consensus building. Apparently, the content of these agreements should comply with international law and the relevant international conventions especially, as noted by the WFD, the UNECE Convention on the Protection and Use of Trans-boundary Watercourses and International Lakes (known as the Helsinki Rules), approved by the European Council in 1995. This paper examines the efficiency of water agreements and their precedent negotiations using the best known international examples while focusing on the Greek–Bulgarian agreement for the waters of the Nestos/Mesta River and its compliance with the WFD and the Helsinki Rules. As shown, the two countries have failed to implement a joint effort to put it into action; hence a methodological framework is proposed including certain strategic steps that can guide the two countries to a more effective and applicable water agreement taking into account the peculiarities of this trans-boundary area.
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Boutin, Nathalie, Louise Chourot, Jean-Claude Raynal, and Rutger De Wit. "Barriers to Effective Management of Mediterranean Coastal Lagoons Following Key European Union Directives: Perceptions of Managers of Natura 2000 Lagoon Sites in South France." Environments 12, no. 5 (2025): 137. https://doi.org/10.3390/environments12050137.
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This paper focuses on the challenges for the co-implementation of two European Union Directives, i.e., the Habitats Directive and the Water Framework Directive, for the management of Mediterranean coastal lagoons as protected areas. Many of these ecosystems are included in the Natura 2000 network, the largest network of protected areas in the world. Based on semi-structured interviews with 45 stakeholders from 41 institutions, the study identified five main types of perceived barriers: economic, political and socio-cultural, historical, administrative, and ecological. The study confirmed that the co-implementation of the Habitats Directive (HD) and the Water Framework Directive (WFD) in Mediterranean coastal lagoons generated multiple and interrelated barriers. Beyond their regulatory complexity, these EU directives confronted managers with deep operational challenges. First, mismatches between administrative and ecological boundaries weakened their ability to control key ecological processes such as nutrient flows. Second, the proliferation of indicators, often perceived as disconnected from local realities, reinforced the critique of a management by numbers approach. Finally, the widespread use of regulatory exemptions, while intended to adapt EU rules to local contexts, frequently fueled persistent mistrust among stakeholders, especially in historically degraded environments. These challenges were further exacerbated by a siloed organization of administrations, limiting coordination and adaptive management. Overall, these findings call for more integrated governance frameworks, a more critical and context-sensitive use of indicators, and greater transparency in derogation procedures.
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van der Veeren, R. "Different cost-benefit analyses in The Netherlands for the European Water Framework Directive." Water Policy 12, no. 5 (2010): 746–60. http://dx.doi.org/10.2166/wp.2010.108.
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Since 2005, several cost benefit analyses have been performed for the European Water Framework Directive (WFD) in The Netherlands. These analyses had in common that they were meant to support the decision-making process by informing policy makers and making the trade-offs as transparent as possible. The analyses also anticipate questions from the Dutch Parliament. Nevertheless, each time the analyses were slightly different, depending on the situation and (political) questions that had to be answered. This article presents the background and the highlights of the various analyses, describes their differences and similarities and tries to find a common thread in the results. Even though the results are barely comparable for a number of reasons, they seem to indicate that such a line exists and that economic analyses have played a role in the decision-making process by making tradeoffs more explicit. This has offered the opportunity for an iterative dialogue with the Dutch Parliament, which contributed to a decision-making process which resulted in a socially accepted programme of measures that is economically sound and transparent.
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Kremer, Peter. "The Prohibition of Mercury Discharges from Coal-Fired Power Stations under European Law." Journal for European Environmental & Planning Law 10, no. 2 (2013): 132–51. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/18760104-01002003.
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Coal-fired power plants emit mercury trough the air and the water pathway into surface water. Often the occurring depositions from the air and air-soil pathway are higher then the direct depositions through the water pathway. The following article explores the question whether these depositions are in line with the Industry Emission Directive and the Water Framework directive. Whilst the IED does not contain emission limits, there are limitations via the phase-out requirement of the WFD and via the environmental quality standards for mercury contamination of biota in the daughter directive on priority hazardous substances. The phase-out requirement demands the cessation of mercury depositions by 23.12.2006. And based on the biota requirements any new deposition of mercury by coal power plants is inadmissible. These requirements do not only apply to the permission of new power plants, but also to existing plants.
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Holguin-Gonzalez, Javier E., Pieter Boets, Gert Everaert, et al. "Development and assessment of an integrated ecological modelling framework to assess the effect of investments in wastewater treatment on water quality." Water Science and Technology 70, no. 11 (2014): 1798–807. http://dx.doi.org/10.2166/wst.2014.316.
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Worldwide, large investments in wastewater treatment are made to improve water quality. However, the impacts of these investments on river water quality are often not quantified. To assess water quality, the European Water Framework Directive (WFD) requires an integrated approach. The aim of this study was to develop an integrated ecological modelling framework for the River Drava (Croatia) that includes physical-chemical and hydromorphological characteristics as well as the ecological river water quality status. The developed submodels and the integrated model showed accurate predictions when comparing the modelled results to the observations. Dissolved oxygen and nitrogen concentrations (ammonium and organic nitrogen) were the most important variables in determining the ecological water quality (EWQ). The result of three potential investment scenarios of the wastewater treatment infrastructure in the city of Varaždin on the EWQ of the River Drava was assessed. From this scenario-based analysis, it was concluded that upgrading the existing wastewater treatment plant with nitrogen and phosphorus removal will be insufficient to reach a good EWQ. Therefore, other point and diffuse pollution sources in the area should also be monitored and remediated to meet the European WFD standards.
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Irfan Ali. "WATER LEGISLATION IN INDIA AS PRIORITY ASPECT OF WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT." Journal of Civil Engineering, Environment and Architecture 71 (October 11, 2024): 47–66. http://dx.doi.org/10.7862/rb.2024.4.
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Effective water resource management is contingent on sound water legislation, which plays a crucial role in shaping worldwide water management strategies. The objective of this review is to analyze water policies and legislation in India, and pinpoint issues in water policy implementation and management. Additionally, the review includes an examination of the European Water Framework Directive (WFD) to explore the differences between European water legislation assumptions and water management, which can aid in adapting certain EU assumptions to Indian legislation. India faces urgent water-related problems due to inadequate water resource management in individual states and nationwide, which can be mitigated by implementing coherence in water policies and collaborating with policymakers, practitioners, and stakeholders from various economic sectors to enhance water governance strategies. Comparative analysis revealed that the European Water Framework Directive adopts a more specific and integrated approach, supported by precise legal regulation, wide-ranging stakeholder involvement, and investments in technology and infrastructure to achieve its set water management goals. In contrast, the Indian water legislation framework lacks a systemic approach, and the main gap lies in the inconsistency between national and state water legislation and the lack of proper coordination between the state and central governments. Unifying legal regulations at the national and state levels in cooperation with responsible legislative and executive institutions at appropriate governmental levels can help solve water management problems and achieve set goals.
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Boezeman, Daan, Mark Wiering, and Ann Crabbé. "Agricultural Diffuse Pollution and the EU Water Framework Directive: Problems and Progress in Governance." Water 12, no. 9 (2020): 2590. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/w12092590.
Full textAbstract:
Progress has been made on improving Europe’s water quality. Nevertheless, there is much scepticism as to whether the goals of the European Water Framework Directive will be realised by 2027. Addressing diffuse agricultural sources of pollution remains a persistent problem. The Special Issue “Water Quality and Agricultural Diffuse Pollution in Light of the EU Water Framework Directive” aims to advance the understanding of the different governance arrangements European Member States developed to address this problem. The contributions in this Special Issue focus on governance arrangements in Denmark, England, Flanders/Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Poland, The Netherlands, Norway and Scotland. The contributions address three themes. First, the contributions signal serious concerns with policy integration across policy domains. Second, it appears to be tough to prioritise source-based measures over effect-based measures of all sorts despite the principles embedded in the Directive. Third, scientific knowledge is an important ally for water interests, yet politicisation in power struggles looms. The contributions in the Special Issue offer reflections on the open, participatory, experimentalist governance that the WFD exemplifies. While most authors agree that this path is attractive and appropriate in some respects, questions can be raised as to whether it also avoids confrontations and hampers the effectiveness of policies.
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Bongaerts, Jan C. "European Water Law: Water Policy and Water Resources Management in France: The Projet de Loi Sur l'Eau." European Energy and Environmental Law Review 11, Issue 8/9 (2002): 239–44. http://dx.doi.org/10.54648/5100866.
Full textAbstract:
After the adoption in October 2000 and the publication in December 2000 of the European Union Water Framework Directive (EU WFD), Member States have to start with the transposition into national law and the actual implementation into national water policy and water resources management. For Germany, the EU WFD contains a new approach since the main principle is to integrate the ecological, economic and social aspects of water policy and water resources management at the level of river basins. Whereas some elements of current water policy in Germany take this principle into account, in many other parts this is not the case. For France, the EU WFD is familiar, because the principle of water resources management at the level of river basins has been established by the Water Act of 1964. Hence, it is not surprising to notice that, just a little more than one year after the publication of the EU WFD, the Assemblée nationale already adopted a Proposal for a Water Act which is to replace the Act of 1964 (and the important amendments made in 1992). In fact, in terms of current practice, the basic structure of water resources management remains unchanged. This paper examines the Proposal and — incidentally and passim — also explains some of the institutional arrangements and instruments which characterise French water policy and water resources management. In this two part article a short introduction deals with some of the basic principles of the Proposal for a Water Act. The next four sections deal with the four chapters of the Proposal which merit attention. In this first part first, the author investigates some general elements of decentralisation and planning, second, deals with the concept of “services publics” for the provision of water and waste water treatment; and third, looks at the reform of institutions, in particular of the agences de l'eau.