Overview of WFD key issues and research needs in Europe

Activity leaders: NL and ES

Marc de Rooy, RIZA, NL

Jornadas sobre la Aplicación de la Directiva Marco del Agua

Outline

• Introduction to the activity• WFD key issues • Research issues

Background

End of 2004, insight needed:

• What issues are MS facing when implementing the WFD?

• What should be dealt with at EU level?

• What research issues are relevant?

• Overview needed quickly!

Activity:WFD key issues and research needs

All issues Issues with EU

relevance(policy issues and research

needs)

Research needs

June 2005 November 2005

Step 2Step 1 Step 3

Phase 1 Phase 2

Key issues

• Questionnaire on the basis of the IMPRESS guidance

• Input from all EU member states, Norway, and Iceland.

• Questions on pressures on the water system and on ‘other obstacles’.

Results

Results

• Agriculture most important issue• Hydromorphology also important

• At a distance: – Municipal wastewater,– Industrial wastewater,– Reduction in flow– Other issues

• Hardly issues with prevalence for certain EU region (exemption: reduction in flow)

Agriculture

• Issue of concern to many countries; up to 85% in rivers and 77% in groundwater

• High average weightings, from 3.7 groundwater to 3.4 in rivers.

• Confirmed by the PoM, where 24 of 26 countries reported agriculture to be a topic

Morphology

• Flow management and river management (general terms): 65%

• Specific issues higher, up to 88% for ‘physical alteration of the channel’.

• Weighting is high, several issues at 3.0, and up to 3.2. • High score is confirmed by question on PoM: 21 countries

indicate measures

Households

• Broadly reported, up to 92% for ‘municipal wastewater’

• Weighting is lower, none reaches at 3.0, though several rank 2.9

• Topic also mentioned often in the PoM question: 22 out of 26

Industry

• No scores higher than 70%. High scores: Chemicals and Pulp paper and boards.

• Only high weightings were few countries reported. Other higher weightings: Chemical industry, Iron and steel, Food processing industry.

• Individual countries report high weightings for specific sectors

Reduction in flow

• Abstractions for agriculture and for drinking water supply broadly reported, but lowly weighted

Other issues

• High score for ‘landfill and waste’ • Average weightings low, but high in individual cases. Exception:

‘climate change’; considered as issue, effects not well known. • Issue reported in PoM: atmospheric deposition (including long

distance air pollution)

Other obstacles (no direct impact on the water system)

• Data availability, data formats and the level of aggregation of data

• International level also “upstream-downstream”

• Communication about the WFD implementation

• Several knowledge gaps

EU Water Directors Common Implementation Strategy

2005-2006Water Directors

Steering of implementation processChair: Presidency, Co-chair: Commission

Strategic Co-ordination GroupCo-ordination of work programme

Chair: Commission

Expert Advisory Forum

“Flood Protection”

Art. 21 Committee

Stakeholders, NGO’s, Researchers, Experts, etc.

Working Group A“Ecological Status”

Working Group B“Integrated River

Basin Management”

Working Group D“Reporting”

Working Group E“Priority Substances”

Working Group C“Groundwater”

"GIS” Expert Network

“Chemical Monitoring” “Chemical Monitoring”

Strategic Steering Group

“WFD and Hydromorphology”

Strategic Steering Group

“WFD and Agriculture”

WFD key issues and research needs

All issues Issues with EU

relevance(policy issues and research

needs)

Research needs

June 2005 November 2005

Step 2Step 1 Step 3

Phase 2

Research issues

• Water resources management• Groundwater management• Knowledge on physical processes• Knowledge on ecological processes• Monitoring• Pressure impact relations• Data management• Measures assessment• WFD policy questions• Policy assessment• Socio economic issues

Matching questions with research I

Matching questions with research II

• Only currently executed research projects are taken into account (people can be contacted)

• Most issues are covered by one or more research projects

• Coverage differs per issue category:

An uneasy relationship…

WD conclusions and recommendations

The Water Directors:

• endorsed the document on “WFD Key Issues-Phase II”

• agreed to disseminate it widely (merging Phase I+II)

• took over the recommendation to involve representatives of research projects in the CIS Working Groups

• agreed to deliver the outputs of the work on research needs as an active input for WISE-RTD

Thank you!

M.dRooy@riza.rws.minvenw.nl

Final document available at Circa: http://forum.europa.eu.int/Public/irc/env/wfd/library?l=/

framework_directive/thematic_documents/

integrated_management&vm=detailed&sb=Title