A recent report has revealed that only about one-third of Europe’s surface water is in good condition, despite an EU goal established in 2015 to improve all water bodies to at least good quality. As of 2021, data from 19 member countries showed that approximately 37% of Europe’s surface waters met at least a good ecological status, while 29% achieved good chemical status. The original target deadline has been postponed to 2027, but current trends indicate that this goal is likely to be missed significantly.
Leena Ylä-Mononen, the executive director of the European Environment Agency (EEA), emphasized the poor health of Europe’s waters, stating, “Our waters face an unprecedented set of challenges that threatens Europe’s water security.” The report indicated that agriculture had the most significant impact on both surface water and groundwater, as it extracts excessive water and introduces high levels of pollutants. Additionally, coal-fired power plants contribute harmful emissions.
Countries in western and central Europe, such as Germany and the Netherlands, were noted for having a particularly high proportion of water bodies in poor condition. The report also highlighted the “catastrophic” fish die-off in the Oder River in 2022, primarily caused by pollution from salt mines and urban wastewater nutrients.
Despite the EU’s introduction of comprehensive water management regulations nearly 25 years ago, which prompted member states to enhance water quality, the EEA found that efforts over the last decade have seldom resulted in overall improvements. The report represented the most detailed assessment of the continent’s waterways to date.
The EEA noted that Europe’s groundwater is in better condition than its surface water, with 91% rated as having at least good quantitative status and 77% achieving good chemical status. However, groundwater quality has only improved by one percentage point since 2015 for both measures.
To address the poor condition of Europe’s waters, the EEA recommended reducing demand for water, minimizing harmful substance releases, and restoring rivers and wetlands. The scientists cited recent flooding in central Europe as an example of extreme weather events that highlight the urgent need for action. Trine Christiansen, a co-author of the report, stated, “Having a healthy aquatic ecosystem helps mitigate the impacts we’re seeing of climate change. The better the [water] situation we have, the more capable we are of handling these more extreme events.”
The EEA partially attributed the stagnation in chemical status improvements for surface water to long-lasting pollutants like mercury and brominated flame retardants. Water scientist Prof. Dietrich Borchardt, from the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, welcomed the report’s focus on nature restoration and climate change but expressed a desire for a deeper examination of the lack of progress in Europe’s water quality over the past two decades.
On Monday, the lobby group Water Europe called for an investment of €255 billion (£213 billion) in water resources by 2030 to safeguard Europe’s economy and promote environmental sustainability. They cautioned that water scarcity, which impacts one in three Europeans, poses a threat to critical industries such as semiconductor manufacturing, data centers, renewable hydrogen production, and electric vehicle battery production.
