Water is for life:How the Water Framework Directive helps safeguard Europe’s resources doc

1
Water is for life:
How the Water Framework Directive helps
safeguard Europe’s resources
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ISBN 978-92-79-13538-5
doi 10.2779/83017
© European Union, 2010
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CONTENTS
The importance of water 4
What is the European Union’s role? 6
Human pressures on the quality of our waters
and impacts on the environment 8
The Water Framework Directive
– an EU water policy framework 10
Environmental objectives: what is good ecological and chemical status? 12
De ning and monitoring the status of surface andgroundwaters 13
A framework for integrated international cooperation
across the catchments and coastal areas 14
Implementing the Water Framework Directive – an ongoing process 15

The Water Framework Directive sets out a clear timetable
and status of implementation 16
River basin management plans
– toolbox for integrated management of water 18
Environmental objectives and exemptions 20
A legal framework integrating relevant EU measures
in the  eld of water legislation 21
Implementation support 24
Water information 24
Further reading 25
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water.europa.eu/policy
4
Water is the key to life: a crucial
resource for humanity and the
rest of the living world. Everyone
needs it – and not just for drinking.
Our rivers, lakes, coastal and marine
waters as well as our ground waters are
valuable resources to protect.
Society uses water to generate and sustain economic
growth and prosperity, through activities such as farm-
ing, commercial fi shing, energy production, manufactur-
ing, transport and tourism. Water is important in deciding
where we settle and how we use land. Water can also be
a source of geo-political confl icts – in particular where
water shortages occur. For our own well-being, not only
clean drinking water but also clean water for hygiene and
sanitation is crucial. Water is also used for recreational
activities such as bathing, fi shing or just for enjoying the
beauty of coasts, rivers and lakes in nature. We expect
clean rivers and coastal waters when we go on holiday,
and we expect an unlimited supply on tap for showers
and baths, washing machines and dishwashers.
Water is at the core of natural ecosystems, and climate reg-
ulation. The hydrological cycle is the name for the continu-
ous movement of water on, above and below the surface
of the Earth, without beginning or end, changing through
liquid, vapour and ice. Although the quantity of water on
Earth remains fairly constant over time, the pattern of sup-

ply is particularly vulnerable to climate change. During the
coming century, scientists warn of reduced access to safe
drinking water, as glaciers melt away and drought becomes
more frequent in areas like the Mediterranean. This in turn
will diminish the supply of water for irrigation and food
production. At the same time, rainfall and river fl ow pat-
terns will change. More frequent fl ooding – especially of
increasingly populated fl ood plains – will increase damage
to homes, infrastructure and energy supply. Flash fl oods
are expected to become more frequent across Europe.
Increased temperatures and reduced availability of water
will also reduce water’s cooling capacity for industry and
power plants.
Water pollution and scarcity pose threats to human
health and quality of life. But there are also wider eco-
logical considerations. The free fl ow of water, unaff ected
by pollution, is important to sustaining water-dependent
ecosystems. A shortage of good-quality water damages
aquatic, wetland and terrestrial environments, putting
further pressure on fl ora and fauna that are already
suff ering the impact of urbanisation and climate change.
Experts have drawn attention to the value of the ‘ecosys-
tem services’ we obtain from the natural world. Water is
both a provisioning service – a basic material – and one of
the regulating services that governs climate and weather
and keeps our planet functioning. The European Environ-
ment Agency estimates that wetlands around the world
provide services, such as water purifi cation and carbon
absorption, which could be worth €2.5 billion a year.
Although humanity has long realised its dependence on

water, we in Europe are now also becoming more and
more aware that the supply is not infi nite, and that we
need to value it accordingly. Water must be managed
and protected. It is not merely a consumer product, but
a precious natural resource, vital to future generations as
well as our own. Without water, no life can survive.
The importance of water
Ou
r
water
s
5
The Water Framework
Directive protect areas used for
abstraction of drinking water.
Baduen, France
6
What is the European Union’s role?
A river basin or a catchment cov-
ers the entire river system, from
the sources of small tributaries to
the estuary, including its ground-
water. The EU and the Member States
have divided the river basins and associ-
ated coastal areas into 110 river basin districts,
40 of which are international and cross borders, covering
about 60% of EU territory. For example, the Vistula and
Oder drain more than 95% of Polish territory. But rivers
do not stop at national frontiers – they fl ow on through
diff erent countries to reach the sea. All EU Member States

apart from islands like Cyprus and Malta share waters
with neighbouring countries.
Catchment areas can be very large, or quite small. The
Danube’s international river basin district (IRBD), for
example, is the largest in the EU, spanning 801 463 km²
and touching ten Member States and nine neighbouring
countries. By contrast, the Hérault in the south of France
covers 2 900 km².
These waters can only be safeguarded if all the coun-
tries and regions involved work together and share the
responsibility. That is why an EU framework for action in
the fi eld of water policy is needed, and agreement and
action at river basin district level is essential.
Managing water resources is also a complex process,
which involves many diff erent players, such as diff erent
levels of government, diff erent economic actors, and
the public. Addressing all types of potentially polluting
and damaging activities as well as all uses of water is
therefore crucial.
In 2000, the EU took a groundbreaking step when it
adopted the Water Framework Directive, establishing a
legal obligation to protect and restore the quality of waters
across Europe. The Directive introduced an innovative
approach to water management, based not on national
administrative or political boundaries, but on natural geo-
graphical and hydrological formations: the river basins. It
also requires coordination of diff erent Community policies
in a framework for action. Furthermore, it sets out a pre-
cise timetable for action, with 2015 as the target date for
getting all EU waters into good condition.

Delta in the Sarek National Park, Sweden
7
Europe’s river basin districts
(pink denotes international river basin district)
60°E50°E40°E
30°E
30°E
20°E
20°E
10°E
10°E
0°
0°10°W20°W30°W
60°N
60°N
50°N
50°N
40°N
40°N30°N
0 100 200 300 400
km
IE
Canaries (ES)
0100
km
025
km
025
km
0100

km
025
km
Guadeloupe (FR)
Martinique (FR)
French Guiana (FR)
Reunion (FR)
Malta
FI
FI
T
o
r
n
i
o
n
j
o
k
i
Bothnian Bay
Bothnian
Sea
SE
SE
SE
Ne
m
un

as
D
a
u
g
a
v
a
LT
EE
Lielupe
Venta
Gauja
LV
LT
LT
LV
LV
LV
EE
E
a
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t
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s
t
o
n
i

a
DE
DE
CZ
AT
DE
HU
SI
CZ
AT
Eider
DE
DE
PT
PT
PT
PT
S
h
a
n
n
o
n
FR
AT
R
h
o
n

e
NL
FR
NL
DE
DE
NL
FR
LU
BE
NL
BE
BE
FR
Sambre
FR
Scheldt
M
e
u
s
e
Seine
CZ
PL
PL
FR
SI
SK
SK

Loire
Adour-Garonne
Scotland
C
y
p
r
u
s
Malta
UA
RO
BG
RS
BA
HR
MD
UA
BY
BY
RU
RU
RU
BY
RU
NO
CH
CH
CH
Warnow/

Peene
Weser
Solway
Tweed
North-
umbria
Humber
Anglian
Thames
South East
South West
Severn
Dee
South
Eastern
N
o
r
t
h
W
e
s
t
W
e
s
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n
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s
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n
South
Western
C
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v
a
d
o
Vouga
Sado
C
o
r
s
i
c
a

Northern
Baltic Sea
Glomma
Buskerud,
Vestfold
and
Telemark
Agder
Counties
and
Rogaland
Hordaland,
Sogn and
Fjordane
Moere and
Romsdal
N
o
r
d
l
a
n
d
Troms
Finnmark
West
Estonia
Kemijoki
Oulujoki-

Iijoki
Vuoksi
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m
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k
i
-
G
u
l
f
o
f
F
i
n
l
a
n
d
Atlantic Ocean
Mediterranean Sea
North
Sea
Baltic
Sea

Gidauaan
Elbe
Rhine
Odra
Vistula
Danube
Aland
O
s
l
o
Southern Baltic Sea
M
i
n
h
o
Tugas
National and International
River Basin Districts
Submissions in accordance with Article 3
of the Water Framework Directive
K
o
k
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a
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n

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a
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Tenojoki-
Paatsjoki
Naatamojoki-
FI
RU
FI
RU
Version 22/03/2007
Skagerrak
and
Kattegat
E
m
s
Schlei/
Trave
1) Map based largely on submissions ofdigital River Basin Districts (RBDs) from EUMember States and Norway.
4) Coastal waters are defined in the Water Framework Directive (WFD) as extending 1 naut ical
mile f rom the coastline. However, some Member States have included alarger part of their
coastal waters within the RBD boundaries.
2) Some ofthe international RBDs shown on this map were notidentified as being international bythe Member
States, i.e. the Adour-Garonne, R
hone and Seine in France; the Vistula in Poland; the Kemijoki and Vuoksi in
Finland.
Both the German Eider and Schlei/Trave RBDs are shared with the Danish International RBD.
Part of the Italian Ea stern Alps RBD isshared with t he Slovenian Adriatic RBD.
It is understood that the Tornionjoki international RBD in Finland is shared with Swe den, most likely with part
of the Bothnian Bay international RBD. As the Bothnian Bay covers several river catchment s, the Tornionjoki

an
d Bothnian Bay have beenkept separate in this map.
The delineation of the Finnmark RBD between Norway andFinland is currently under review.
Ebro
Galicia
Jucar
Segura
Guadalquivir
B
a
l
e
a
r
i
c
I
s
l
a
n
d
s
ES
ES
ES
ES
Footnotes:
BE
Basque

country
C
a
t
a
l
o
n
i
a
A
l
g
a
r
v
e
3) Theseare th e boundaries of the river catchments extending beyond the EU27 border. They
have been derived from the Catchment Characterisation and Modelling (CCM) database,
developed by the Joint Research Centre (JRC), except the boundaries for the Danube
international RBD which were supplied by the International Commission fo r the Protection
of the Danube River (ICPDR).
PL
PL
UA
RU
UK
4UK UK
IE
IE

E
a
s
t
e
r
n
1
2
4
3
P
r
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Dniestr
AL
MK
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EL
11
EL
EL
EL
BG
MK
BG

RS
AL
AL
RU
RU
Jarft
PL
Ucker
PL
Swieza
PL
9
10
8
7
5
6
4
3
2
1
EL
12
Souther
n
Appeni
nes
Central
Appenines
Sicily

S
ard
ini
a
No
r
t
h
e
r
n
A
p
p
e
n
i
n
e
s
Po
Serchio
IT
Coastal Waters
(4)
Map produced byWRc, UKon behalf of
European Commission , DG Environment, March 2007.
c
1
2

3
Black Sea
EU27 boundary
East
Aegean
We
st
Ae
gean
(2)
International River Basin Districts
(within EU27)
Ems
(3)
International River Basin Districts
(outside EU27)
Central Macedonia
1
Western Macedonia
2
Thessalia
4
Epirus
3
Western Sterea Ellada
5
EasternStereaEllada
6
Attica
7

8
Northern Peloponnese
9
Western Peloponnese
10
Eastern Peloponnese
Crete
11
Aegean Islands
12
SE
NO
NO
SE
13
14
13
14
Thrace
Eastern Macedonia
Greek RBDs
Epirus
Central
Mace
donia
We
ste
r
n
M

a
ced
o
nia
Eastern
Alps
RBD boundary
Adriatic
National River Basin Districts
(within EU27)
(1)
Country border
National River Basin Districts
(outside EU27)
Agder
Loire
(1)
RS
North Western
1
Northern Irish RBDs
Danish RBDs
Shannon4
North Eastern
3
Neagh Bann
2
Jutland and Funen
1
Zealand

2
Bornholm
4 Danish I nt ernational RBD
3
LT
Azores (PT)
0100
km
Madeira (PT)
km
0100
Norte
Mediterranean Andalucia
Andal
uc
ia
A
t
l
antic
ES
025
km
Black
Sea
Doruo
ES
ES
FR
An

daluc
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PL
PL
8
Human pressures on the quality of our waters

and impacts on the environment
Signifi cant water
management issues
Within the EU, water is distributed
unevenly due to geographical and cli-
matic variations. Ireland’s lush greenery is the
result of frequent rainfall sweeping in from the Atlantic,
whereas Mediterranean countries can suff er months of
summer drought, creating the conditions for dangerous
forest fi res. Europe is also starting to confront changed
and intensifi ed patterns of fl ooding, for instance fl ash
fl oods. Expected sea level rise will put further pressure
on coastal areas.
Demand for water is growing everywhere: in the house
and garden, for industry, agriculture and irrigation, lei-
sure and tourism. In the south, rapid tourist development
has increased pressure on water, leading to over-exploi-
tation, and sometimes to desertifi cation and salt-water
intrusion in coastal freshwater zones.
Pressures on water quality come mainly from households,
industry, and agriculture, which uses and discharges
polluting chemicals and nutrients. Key driving forces,
for instance, are urban developments, fl ood defences,
power generation (e.g. hydropower), navigation, recrea-
tion, wastewater discharge, coastal defences, freshwater
fi shing, mining, and forestry.
Water scarcity: Europe is not widely regarded as an arid
continent, so it may be surprising to know that nearly
half the EU’s population lives in ‘water-stressed’ countries,
where the abstraction of water from existing freshwater

sources is too high. Water scarcity aff ects 33 EU river
basins.
Pollution is another serious problem. Hazardous chem-
icals fi nd their way into European waters from a variety of
point or diff use sources, including industrial plants, farm-
land, and landfi ll sites. Endocrine disruptors are espe-
cially worrying as they can interfere with the hormonal
W
it
h
unev
e
In Europe:
 Only 30% of surface water and 25% of groundwater is not at serious risk from pollution and other changes
 60% of European cities over-exploit their groundwater resources
 50% of wetlands are endangered due to over-exploitation of groundwater
 Since 1985, the area of irrigated land in southern Europe has risen by 20%
Key facts on water
9
systems of living organisms, including humans. Other
pollutants include organophosphorus compounds,
metals and materials in suspension.
High concentrations of sewage or fertilisers in water sys-
tems can cause eutrophication, promoting the growth
of weeds that disrupt normal ecosystems, deprive fi sh of
oxygen and interfere with water treatment. Waters choked
with algae turn cloudy and discoloured, losing their aes-
thetic appeal and recreational function as well as posing
risks to health. There are signs of eutrophication in some
40% of European rivers and lakes, as well as coastal waters.

Morphological changes – such as the building of dams,
reservoirs and irrigation systems – can also cause dam-
age by changing water levels, placing obstacles in the
way of the natural fl ow of the rivers and thereby destroy-
ing ecosystems or cutting off natural fl ood plains from
water courses.
Other examples of ecological impacts are temperature
changes, for instance due to the use of water for cooling
purposes, and the increasing presence of alien species in
our waters.
There is much that can be done to improve the quality and quantity of our water. Measures range from
infl uencing consumer behaviour so as to minimise the use of chemicals and save resources, to changing land
use and agricultural practices governing crop choices and irrigation, pollution control, restoring wetlands, and
other mitigation measures.
The Water Framework Directive requires Member States to identify signifi cant water management issues and
hold extensive consultations with the public and interested parties to identify fi rst the problems, and then the
solutions, to be included in river basin management plans.
Solving the problems
Pressure on water resources is increasing the risk of drought in some areas
10
History
European water legislation dates
back to the latter half of the 1970s,
when the fi rst ‘wave’ of laws set stand-
ards and targets for discharges of dangerous
substances, drinking water, fi shing waters, shellfi sh
waters, bathing waters and groundwater, designed to
protect human health and the environment. A 1988
review identifi ed gaps to be fi lled, leading to further
measures obliging Member States to control sewage

from urban areas, nitrogen fertilisers from farmland, and
pollution from factories and industrial plants:
 1991: Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive and
Nitrates Directive
 1996: Directive for Integrated Pollution and Preven-
tion Control (IPPC)
 1998: Drinking Water Directive
Nonetheless, it was becoming clear that the EU needed
a more coherent approach to water policy. So the Com-
mission launched an ambitious consultation process,
gathering the opinions not only of Member States,
the European Parliament and experts, but also of local
and regional authorities, NGOs and environmentalists,
industry and utility providers, community groups and
individuals.
The outcome was the 2000 Water Framework Directive
(WFD), one of the most ambitious and comprehensive
pieces of EU legislation ever. Subsequently, a number
of acts have been adopted to complete the legal frame-
work: on chemical pollution of surface waters, ground-
water protection, and how to establish ecological status.
Two other important pieces of legislation extend the
scope of holistic and integrated water policy: the Marine
Strategy Framework Directive (2008/56/EC) and the
Floods Direct ive (2007/60/EC).
Main objectives
The Framework Directive is built on four main pillars:
1. Coordinated action to achieve ‘good status’ for all
EU waters, including surface and groundwater,
by 2015.

2. Setting up a water-management system based on
natural river basin districts, crossing regional and
national boundaries.
3. Integrated water management, bringing diff erent
water management issues into one framework.
4. Active involvement of interested parties and con-
sultation of the public.
It covers groundwater and all surface waters including
rivers, lakes, coastal waters and ‘transitional waters’, such
as estuaries that connect fresh and saltwater. It sets a
less ambitious objective – ‘good potential’ – for artifi cial
and ‘heavily modifi ed’ bodies of water such as canals and
reservoirs, or industrial ports. It also streamlines EU legis-
lation by replacing seven of the ‘fi rst wave’ Directives,
and incorporating their provisions into a more coherent
framework.
The Water Framework Directive
– an EU water policy framework
11
12
The defi nition of ecological status
is based on the quality of the bio-
logical community, naturally vary-
ing in diff erent parts of the EU. It takes
into account specifi c aspects such as the
abundance of aquatic fl ora or fi sh fauna. Quality
elements aff ecting fi sh and aquatic fl ora, such as the avail-
ability of nutrients, as well as elements like salinity, tem-
perature and pollution by other chemical pollutants have
to be monitored. Importantly, morphological features like

quantity, water fl ow, water depths and structures of the
river beds are also part of what defi nes ecological status.
The WFD classifi cation scheme for surface water eco-
logical status includes fi ve status categories: high, good,
moderate, poor and bad.
‘High status’ is defi ned as the biological, chemical and
morphological conditions associated with no or very low
human pressure. This is also called the ‘reference condi-
tion’ as it is the best status achievable – the benchmark.
Reference conditions vary for diff erent types of rivers,
lakes or coastal waters.
Quality is assessed by the extent of deviation from these
reference conditions. ‘Good status’ means ‘slight’ deviation,
‘moderate status’ means ‘moderate’ deviation, and so on.
According to the Article 5 reports (2004), a total of 70 000
surface water bodies were identifi ed in the EU: 80% of
them rivers, 15% lakes and 5% coastal and transitional
waters. Member States can designate diff erent water
bodies along the same river, since the status of the water
may change. The diagram below applies to a river with
high-quality water at its source, which gradually becomes
more polluted downstream.
To defi ne good chemical status, environmental qual-
ity standards have been established for 33 new priority
substances, and eight previously regulated substances,
to be measured in water, sediment or biota. These are
the chemical pollutants identifi ed to be of high concern
across the EU. In this context the WFD is backed up by
other EU environmental legislation on pollution control,
such as the REACH regulation and the IPPC. The Commis-

sion will regularly review the list of substances, and new
substances may be added in the future.
The rules for groundwater are slightly diff erent. Mem-
ber States must use geological data to identify distinct
volumes of water in underground aquifers. Quantity is a
major issue, and the law limits abstraction to a portion
of the annual recharge. Groundwater should not be pol-
luted at all, so the WFD adopts a precautionary approach
to protecting groundwater from contamination by pro-
hibiting direct discharges. Any increase in pollution must
be detected and measures taken to prevent it.
One of the Directive’s environmental objectives is that
the status of water bodies shall not deteriorate.
Environmental objectives:
what is good ecological and chemical status?
High status Good status Moderate status
T
i
s
lo
i
ng in
into acc
o
a
bundance o
e
lements aff ectin
g
fi sh

a
13
Monitoring is the main
tool for gauging the sta-
tus of waters. The WFD
obliged Member States to set
up or adapt monitoring proce-
dures by December 2006. It is a
complex task, comprising three elements:
 Surveillance monitoring tracks long-
term trends
 Operational monitoring measures
progress in improving water quality
 Investigative monitoring entails deeper
research, for example on specifi c
hazards.
In addition, monitoring hydromorphology
means tracing the physical shape and fl ow
of river systems. Across the EU there are
more than 54 000 surface-water monitoring
stations, and over 51 000 for groundwater.
However, the density varies considerably
between Member States.
To lay the foundations for comparing data, in
2003-2007, EU scientists undertook an inter-
calibration exercise. This uniquely ambitious
and complex project sets the boundaries for
‘good status’, by making comparable results
of diff erent countries’ assessment systems.
Defi ning and monitoring the status of surface

and groundwaters
obl
up o
r
60° E50° E40° E
30° E
30° E
20° E
20° E
10° E
10° E
0°
0°-10° W-20° W-30° W
60° N
60° N
50° N
50° N
40° N
40° N
Azores (PT)
Surface water monitoring stations
Submissions in accordance with Article 8 of the Water Framework Directive
Version March 2009
Map produced by WRc plcon behalf of the European Commission , DG Environment, 2009
c
0 100 200 300 400
km
0100
km
Madeira (PT)

Canaries (ES)
030
km
Guadeloupe (FR)
Martinique (FR)
French Guiana (FR)
Reunion (FR)
Malta
0100
km
0100
km
025
km
0100
km
025
km
025
km
(1)
No report
Transitional water monitoring stations
Lake monitoring stations
River monitoring stations
Coastal water monitoring stations
(3)
River Basin Districts (within EU27)
EU27 extent
(3)

River Basin Districts (outside EU27)
(5)
Country border
Coastal waters
(4)
Footnotes:
River catchments extending beyond the EU27 border have been derived from the Catchment
Characterisation and Modelling (CCM) database, developed by the Joint Research Centre (JRC).
The boundaries for the Danube International RBD were supplied b y the International
Commission for the Protection of theDanube River (ICPDR).
Greece has notreported on its monitoring programmes under Article 8.
(1)
Malta has notreported on its sur face water monitoring programmes under Article 8.
(2)
International and National River Basin Districts have been reported by EU Member States and
Norway under Article 3 of the Water Framework Directive.
The boundaries for all River Basin Districts are displayed using the WISE River Basin Districts
dataset, available from the European Environment Agency:
/>(3)
Coastal waters are defined in the Water Framework Directive as extending 1 nautical mile from the
coastline. However, some MemberStates have included a larger part of their coastal waters within
the RBD boundaries.
(4)
The country border data was provided by Eurostat and is derived from EGM ata scale of
1:3 million.
(5)
14
The river basin approach is the
best and most cost-eff ective
way to manage water. Long-

standing international coope ration
in the Elbe, Danube and Rhine basins –
where countries worked together to meet
joint objectives – has demonstrated its potential. Isolated
measures to improve water quality cannot be successful
without taking account of what happens upstream and
downstream. Integrated river basin management adopts
a holistic approach to protecting the whole body of water,
its source, tributaries, delta and river mouth. It tackles
pressures and risks through a co ordinated strategy, gen-
erating solidarity and involving all the interested parties in
decision-making. Indeed, public participation is a corner-
stone of the WFD, so European citizens are playing a cru-
cial role in planning and implementing measures.
The Directive also links other important water-relevant
policies into one integrated framework, covering issues
such as industrial pollution, major accidents, and impact
assessments.
A framework for integrated international cooperation
across the catchments and coastal areas
The Danube river basin district illustrates the variety of waters within one river basin. It includes mountain streams in the
Carpathians and the Alps, groundwater bodies, a vast delta, and the Black Sea coastal waters. International cooperation
around this crucial waterway has a long tradition. The fi rst free navigation treaty was concluded in 1856, and in 1994,
14 countries and the EU got together to sign the International Convention on the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR).
The ICPDR published a river basin management plan for all of the Danube in December 2009 (dr.
org/participate/danube_river_basin_management_plan), the so-called Roof Report for the river basin, and Parties
to the Convention are expected to provide more detailed national plans. To prepare this, the ICPDR Secretariat based
in Vienna (Austria) helped coordinate Danube-wide expert groups on issues such as river basin planning, pressures
and measures, monitoring and assessment, information management, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and
economics, as well as on fl oods.

Key water management issues in the Danube are nutrient pollution as well as organic pollution. To tackle eutrophication
the Danube plan proposed a basin-wide ban on phosphate in detergents, and in particular in the lower region,
continued development of wastewater treatment is crucial. Morphological changes, to facilitate navigation, fl ood
defence and power generation, are also causing a problem for migrating fi sh along the river, notably the sturgeon.
The Danube is facing increasing problems with fl ooding, water scarcity and droughts too.
Case study: the Danube River
st
an
in the

15
The Directive is implemented
through six-year recurring cycles,
the fi rst of which covers the period
2009-2015. After the Directive came
into force, Member States had to defi ne
their river basin districts geograph ically, and
identify the authorities responsible for water man-
agement (2003). The next task was to undertake a joint
economic and environmental analysis of these areas’
characteristics (2004), and to identify water bodies at risk
of not achieving the 2015 target. By 2006, countries had
to launch water monitoring networks.
In 2007, in the fi rst WFD implementation report
1
, the
Commission issued its fi rst assessment of progress in
implementing the Directive, looking at the way Member
States transposed it into national law, the administra-
tive arrangements, and the river basin district analyses.

In 2009, a second WFD implementation report assessed
progress on establishing monitoring networks.
22 December 2009 marked a crucial milestone in European
water management, as it was the deadline for Member
States to draw up river basin management plans (RBMPs)
for each one of the 110 river basin districts across the EU.
Each plan must include a ‘programme of measures’ to meet
the WFD’s objectives. The preparation schedule included
a comprehensive, three-stage consultation process, which
required Member States to involve the public and inter-
ested parties in water management. It had to be launched
at the latest by the end of 2006, with a consultation on
signifi cant water management issues (by end 2007), and a
broad consultation lasting at least six months on draft river
basin management plans (by end 2008). (Art. 14)
All European waters have to achieve ‘good ecological and
chemical status’ by 2015. That means not only low levels
of chemical pollution but also – and this is the innovative
element – sustaining healthy aquatic ecosystems.
It is possible to ask for water-body specifi c exemptions
from the achievement of the objectives, if duly justifi ed,
for instance due to technical infeasibility, natural condi-
tions or disproportionate costs. In these cases, a later
deadline can be set to achieve the objectives, or the
environmental objectives can be lowered under strict cir-
cumstances. In the event of new modifi cation of water
bodies, exemption can also be made for overriding pub-
lic reasons, also under strict conditions. Extreme events
can also be a justifi cation for temporary exemptions.
2010 is the deadline for water pricing policies to be

introduced. Water pricing has to contribute to the envir-
onmental objective of the WFD, providing incentives for
sustainable water use. The principles of cost recovery
and ‘polluter pays’ should be applied to all water services.
Pricing and cost recovery will have to take account of
local economic, social and environmental conditions. A
one-size-fi ts-all approach may not be appropriate.
By 2012, Member States have to ensure that their pro-
grammes of measures are operational. By 2015, the
end of the fi rst management cycle, the RBMPs should
be delivering their objectives. The second round of
management plans needs to be put into place by
2015, coupled with Member States’ fi rst  ood risk
management plans (FRMPs).
Implementing the Water Framework Directive
– an ongoing process
20
0
into
1 Towards Sustainable Water Management in the European Union, COM(2007)128 fi nal and SEC(2007)362.
The Water Framework Directive sets out a clear timetable
and status of implementation
2000
2003
2004
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010

2000
• Directive entered
into force – Art. 25
2003
• Transposition into
national legislation –
Art. 24
• Identifi cation of river
basin districts and
authorities – Art. 3
2004
• Characterisation of river
basin: pressures, impacts
and economic analysis
Identifi cation of water
bodies, assessment of
which water bodies are at
risk and where measures
are needed to reach good
status – Art. 5
2010
• Introduce pricing
policies – Art. 9
(WFD)
• 22 March: Deadline
for reporting river
basin management
plans to the
Commission
• Commission’s

assessment of
received plans
started
– Art. 18 (WFD)
2007
• Commission issued its
fi rst implementation
report on Articles 3
(administrative arrangements),
5 (characteristics of the river
basin, impact and economic
analysis), and transposition –
Art. 18.3 (WFD)
• First European Water
Conference: WISE – Water
Information System for Europe
– launched
• Floods Directive adopted –
Art. 18.5 (WFD)
• Start consultation on Signifi cant
Water Management Issues
– Art. 14.1.b
2008
• Draft river basin
management
plans presented by
Member States –
Art. 14
2008
• Marine Strategy

Framework Directive
(2008/56/EC) and
the Environmental
Quality Standard
Directive (2008/105/
EC) adopted
2009
• Finalise river basin management
plan including programme of
measures – Arts. 13 & 11 (WFD)
2009
• Commission issued its second
implementation report
on Article 8 - Monitoring
networks – Art. 18.3 (WFD)
• Second European Water
Conference: Plunge Into The
Debate – Art. 18.5 (WFD)
2006
• Establishment of
monitoring network
– Art. 8
• Start public
consultation process
(at the latest) – Art. 14
2006
• Groundwater
Directive adopted
(2006/118/EC)
16

2012
2015
2021
2027
2012
• Make programmes of
measures operational
– Art. 11(WFD)
2012
• Third implementation
report from the
Commission on the WFD,
policy review on water
scarcity and droughts
and assessment of
vulnerability of EU water
in the Blueprint for
Safeguarding Europe’s
water – Art. 18.1 (WFD)
2015
• Meet environmental objectives
– Art. 4 (WFD)
• First management cycle ends
• Second river basin
management plan
– Art. 13.7 (WFD)
• First fl ood risk management
plan – Art. 7 (FD)
• Marine Strategy Directive
programmes of measures

– (MSFD)
2021
• Second management cycle ends
• Achievement of good environmental status under
the Marine Strategy Directive – Arts. 4 & 13
• Third river basin management plans (WFD),
second fl ood risk management plans (FD)
2027
• Third management
cycle ends, fi nal
deadline for meeting
objectives
– Arts. 4 & 13
Monitoring the implementation of the Directive
The Commission monitors each step of the implementation of the Directive and
has issued two implementation reports (2007, 2009) with an assessment of the fi rst
stages of implementation of the Directive.
The Directive foresees that the Commission shall prepare its third implementation
report by 2012, including a review of progress in the implementation of the Directive,
a review of the status of EU waters, and a survey of the river basin management plans,
including suggestions for the improvement of future plans.
17
18
The river basin management plans
are the key tools for the implemen-
tation of the Directive in the river
basin districts, and are valid for a six-
year period, after which they need to be
revised. They have to contain a summary of
the earlier implementation stages, such as an assess-

ment of the status of water bodies, the objective to be
reached by 2015 in each water body and, if that is not
possible, Member States need to explain and justify how
they intend to rely on the available exemptions.
The plans must also include a programme of measures,
that details which measures will be undertaken, where,
and by when.
2
River basin management plans
– toolbox for integrated management of water
 A description of the river basin district, including maps
 A summary of the main signifi cant pressures and environmental impacts of human activities
 A map of specially protected areas (e.g. drinking, natural habitats)
 A map of monitoring networks, and results of the monitoring
 A list of environmental objectives or targets
 A summary of the programme of measures to maintain or improve water status
 A summary of public consultations and their infl uence
 A list of competent authorities and contacts.
What should be in a river basin management plan?
ba
s
ye
ar
Wetlands, Norfolk (UK)
2 The river basin management plans for the fi rst cycle can be downloaded in the respective language of the Member States
by following the links on this page: />19
Minimum requirements include measures to:
 Promote effi cient and sustainable water use
 Implement water-pricing polices, applying cost recovery and incentive pricing for water services
 Safeguard water quality in order to reduce the level of purifi cation treatment required for the production of

drinking water
 Control abstraction of fresh surface water and groundwater
 Control artifi cial recharge or augmentation of groundwater bodies
 Control point source discharges liable to cause pollution prior to authorisation of water abstraction
 Prevent or control the input of pollutants from diff use sources
 Ensure that the hydromorphological conditions of bodies of water are consistent with required ecological status
or good ecological potential
 Prohibit direct discharges of pollutants into groundwater, subject to certain conditions.
Supplementary measures are needed if the basic measures above are not suffi cient to reach the objectives, and these
could include:
 Codes of good practice
 Recreation and restoration of wetlands areas
 Demand management schemes such as low water-requiring crops in areas aff ected by drought
 Promotion of water-effi cient technologies in industry and water-saving irrigation techniques
 Desalination plants
 Rehabilitation projects
 Artifi cial recharge of aquifers
 Educational, research, development and demonstration projects.
What should be in a programme of measures?
Artifi cial lake/hydropowerdam, Lac St-Croix, France
20
Member States can apply exemp-
tions from the objective of reaching
good ecological and chemical status of
surface water, and good quantitative and
chemical status of groundwater by 2015. Exemptions
can be applied for individual water bodies on the follow-
ing grounds:
 Delay achievement of the objectives to 2021, or at
the latest 2027, with a phased implementation. Rea-

sons can be technical infeasibility, disproportionate
costs or natural conditions that make achievement
by 2015 impossible. (Art. 4.4)
 Lowering of the objectives can be granted if the
water body is so aff ected by human activity, or
indeed due to its natural condition, that achieving
the objectives would be unfeasible or dispropor-
tionately expensive. (Art. 4.5)
 Temporary derogation due to exceptional events
which could not have been foreseen, such as
extreme fl oods or prolonged droughts. (Art. 4.6)
 New modi cation to water bodies, for new sus-
tainable human development activities, or other
changes, provided that there is an overriding pub-
lic interest in the change or benefi ts for human
health, maintaining human safety or sustainable
development that outweigh the benefi ts of achiev-
ing the objective of the Directive. In this case, the
best environmental option that is not dispropor-
tionately expensive or technically unfeasible needs
to be taken. (Art. 4.7) This means that the Water
Framework Directive provides for a procedure
whereby the right balance can be found between
diff erent environmental and societal need, for
instance for the production of renewable energy
through hydropower and the building of fl ood
defence infrastructure.
All relevant information in relation to the application
of exemptions needs to be included in the river basin
management plans. The Commission will assess the jus-

tifi cations provided by Member States for applying these
exemptions, to verify if they are acceptable.
Environmental
objectives and
exemptions
Recreational waters are part of the protected areas of relevance
for the Water Framework Directive
tio
n
goo
d
21
Complementing the legal
framework
The Water Framework Directive has been
complemented by measures contained in a
series of subsequent laws – the so-called ‘daugh-
ter directives’ – laying down further details on how to
achieve good chemical status:
 The Groundwater Directive: the WFD set out clear
objectives for groundwater quantity and repealed
the old groundwater Directive, but left some issues
of chemical status criteria to be defi ned. The new
Directive, adopted in December 2006, establishes
criteria for good chemical status of groundwaters,
clarifi es the identifi cation and reversal of pollution
trends and requires preventing or limiting inputs of
pollutants into groundwater. (Art. 17)
 The Environmental Quality Standards Directive:
since 2008, this limits concentrations in surface

waters of 33 priority substances and eight other
pollutants. They include11 priority hazardous sub-
stances, which are toxic, persistent, and accumulate
in animal and plant tissues to pose a long-term risk.
Discharges must be phased out within 20 years. The
list will be reviewed in 2011. (Art. 16)
Two Commission Decisions, adopted in 2005 and
2008, also provided further details on how to estab-
lish ecologic al status, identifi ed sites and published the
results of the intercalibration exercise.
A legal framework integrating relevant EU measures in the
fi eld of water legislation
The
W
Eutrophication in the Stockholm archipelago
22
Other measures in the context of
integrated river basin management
The WFD also provides a framework for integrating a
number of other thematic pieces of water legislation in
its implementation, and the following Directives set out
what are considered to be so-called ‘basic measures’:
 The Urban Wastewater Directive (1991) applies
to 22 000 urban areas across the EU. It sets down
standards for the collection, treatment and dis-
charge of wastewater from homes and certain
industrial sectors.
 The Nitrates Directive (1991) aims to stop nitrates
from agricultural sources polluting ground- and
surface waters, through codes of good practice for

farmers. It is proving eff ective: from 2000 to 2003,
nitrate concentrations were stable or fell at 86% of
monitored sites. Nonetheless, agriculture remains
a major source of water-related problems, and
farmers need to move towards more sustainable
practices.
 The new Bathing Water Directive (2006) aims to
protect public health by making coastal and inland
waters safe to swim in. Member States have to draw
up management plans for bathing sites, and keep
the public informed.
 The Drinking Water Directive (1998) sets standards
for clean water from the tap, and for use in food
production. Member States have to report on water
quality every three years. The WFD complements it
by protecting supplies at source.
The programme also includes relevant measures
taken to protect water, for instance under the Birds
Directive, the Major Accidents Directive (SEVESO), the
Environmental Impact Assessment Directive, the Sew-
age Sludge Directive, the Plant Protection Directive,
the Habitats Directive, and the Integrated Pollution
Prevention Control Directive.
In fact, protected areas (such as for drinking water
abstraction, bathing, and those identifi ed under the
Habitats Directive) need to be especially monitored, and
achievement of the criteria under those Directives are
at the core of the environmental objectives of the Water
Framework Directive. (Art. 4.3, 6 and 7)
A so-called combined approach brings together the

legislation regulating the act of polluting the environ-
ment, with the environmental quality status for all water
sources. (Art. 10)
A number of newer pieces of legislation also refer expli-
citly to the Water Framework Directive and its provisions,
such as the Strategic Environmental Assessment Direc-
tive (recitals, 2001/42/EC), the Environmental Liability
Directive (2004/35/EC) and the Mining Waste Directive
(2006/21/EC).
Coordination is required between the Water Frame-
work Directive, implementation of the Floods Direct-
ive (2007/60/EC), and the Marine Strategy Framework
Direct ive (2008/56/EC).
23
24
Implementation support
In order to address the challenges
posed by the WFD and the Floods
Directives in a coordinated way, the
Member States, Norway and the
European Commission agreed on a
Common Implementation Strategy
(CIS), with a series of expert working
groups on key topics, such as analysis of
pressures and surface water status, report-
ing, chemical pollution and fl ooding, to reach a common
understanding of diff erent aspects of implementation and
provide a forum for exchange of experiences and informa-
tion across the Union. It has already produced more than
24 guidance documents and several technical reports,

helping to promote the exchange of good practice.
To support the CIS, the Commission has set up a WFD
section on the online information exchange platform
CIRCA (Communication Information Resource Centre
Administrator).
Water information
More information about the
Water Framework Directive
and other EU water-related
legislation and policies can
be found on DG Environment’s water pages:
/>The Water Information System for Europe (WISE) is a gate-
way to information on European water issues. It brings
together data and information collected at EU level by
various institutions and bodies, including results from
quality monitoring for river basin management planning.
In this online map of Europe’s waters it is possible to see
information on how Member States are implementing
the various water-related Directives at water-body level.
It was set up through a partnership between the European
Commission (DG Environment, Joint Research Centre and
Eurostat) and the European Environment Agency: http://
water.europa.eu/ in particular: />themes/water/interactive/advanced-wise-viewer
The WISE-RTD web portal also gives access to a vast range
of research fi ndings from projects at national, European
and international level: o/wpis/
wise.html
COMMON IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY
FOR THE WATER FRAMEWORK DIRECTIVE (2000/60/EC)
Technical Report - 2009 - 040

Guidance document No. 24
RIVER BASIN MANAGEMENT IN A CHANGING CLIMATE
I
m
C
(C
I
grou
Towards the second river basin
management plans
The consultations process for the second cycle of implementation of the
Directive will start in 2012, or consultation on draft river basin management
plans should start at the latest by the end of 2014. The consultation on fl ood
risk management plans also needs to be coordinated with this process.
It is time to PLUNGE INTO THE DEBATE, again!
25
Further reading:
Plunge into the debate - more about consultations
and where to fi nd my river basin management plans:
/>Water notes - 2-4 page information sheets in all EU
languages on diff erent WFD-related issues issues:
/>notes_en.htm
WFD implementation reports 2007 and 2009:
/>water-framework/implrep2007/index_en.htm
Maps and graphs:
/>water-framework/facts_fi gures/index_en.htm
Common Implementation Strategy:
/>water-framework/objectives/implementation_en.htm
CIRCA:
/>m=detailed&sb=Title

Groundwater:
/>work/groundwater.html
Priority substances:
/>sub/pri_substances.htm#dir_prior
Floods Directive:
ood_risk/
index.htm
Marine Strategy Framework Directive:
/>index_en.htm
Urban Wastewater Directive:
/>water-urbanwaste/index_en.html
Bathing Water Directive:
/>index_en.html
Drinking Water Directive:
/>index_en.html
Nitrates Directive:
/>index_en.html
Water scarcity and droughts:
/>scarcity_en.htm
Water and climate change adaptation:
/>index_en.htm
European Environment Agency – water:
www.eea.europa.eu/themes/water
water.europa.eu/policy