Water quality management

6 important questions on Water quality management

What are the 6 main objectives of the EU Water framework directive (WFD)?

  • Expanding the scope of water protection
  • Achieving "good status" for all waters
  • Water management based on river basins
  • Getting the prices for water right (polluter pays principle)
  • Pubic participation
  • Streamlining legislation

What is the water quality goal of the WFD and what does this entail?

Water quality goal: Reach a 'good' water quality for all waters in 2015
(delay till 2027 possible).


This is about the chemical as well as the physical & ecological quality of water.
Chemical: Maximum concentrations of pollutants.
Physical & ecological: Flora & Fauna, pH, temperature, oxygen, phosphate, nitrate, chloride.

What is the first step of the WFD?


Asses current status of the waterbody and analyze preliminary gaps
  1. Identify its borders (so what area s part of that waterbody)
  2. Identify if the waterbody is natural, artificial or heavily modified (Natural is the river as it is, artificial is human created like a ditch or canal and heavily modified is making strong physical alterations by humans)
  3. Identify the reference of the waterbodies (proxies of the water orginal water quality without any human interference)
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What is step 2 in the WFD?


Set up environmental objectives
  1. Maintain high quality of waterbodies where it exists.
  2. Achieve a good status by 2015 (provision for exemptions).
  3. Prevent deterioration in water status.

What is step 3 in the WFD?


Establish monitoring programmes:
  • Surveillance monitoring (effects of human activities)
  • Operational monitoring (assessment and changes in status)
  • Investigate monitoring (urgent matters)

What is step 5 of the WFD?


Establish a pogramme of measures and develop a river basin development plan (RBMP).


Examples of measures:
  • Remove obstacles for migrating fish (sluice, dam, ...)
  • Stop or decrease emissions
  • Restore meandering of a river
  • Create nature friendly shores / banks
  • Make water deeper
    Change flow rate of the river
  • Create by-pass channels
  • Remove contaminated sediments

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