Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies, with a negative impact on their uses. It is usually a result of human activities. Water bodies include lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers, reservoirs and groundwater. Water pollution results when contaminants mix with these water bodies. Contaminants can come from one of four main sources. These are sewage discharges, industrial activities, agricultural activities, and urban runoff including stormwater. Water pollution may affect either surface water or groundwater. This form of pollution can lead to many problems. One is the degradation of aquatic ecosystems. Another is spreading water-borne diseases when people use polluted water for drinking or irrigation. Water pollution also reduces the ecosystem services such as drinking water provided by the water resource.
Water resources law is the field of law dealing with the ownership, control, and use of water as a resource. It is most closely related to property law, and is distinct from laws governing water quality.
A bioindicator is any species or group of species whose function, population, or status can reveal the qualitative status of the environment. The most common indicator species are animals. For example, copepods and other small water crustaceans that are present in many water bodies can be monitored for changes that may indicate a problem within their ecosystem. Bioindicators can tell us about the cumulative effects of different pollutants in the ecosystem and about how long a problem may have been present, which physical and chemical testing cannot.
The International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR) is an international organisation with its permanent secretariat in Vienna. It was established by the Danube River Protection Convention, signed by the Danube countries in Sofia, Bulgaria, in 1994.
Water supply and sanitation (WSS) in the European Union (EU) is the responsibility of each member state, but in the 21st century union-wide policies have come into effect. Water resources are limited and supply and sanitation systems are under pressure from urbanisation and climate change. Indeed, the stakes are high as the European Environmental Agency found that one European out of ten already suffers a situation of water scarcity and the IEA measured the energy consumption of the water sector to be equivalent to 3,5% of the electricity consumption of the EU.
River basin management plans are a management tool in integrated water resources management. They generally contain descriptions of the water resources in a drainage basin and water allocation plans.
Nutrient pollution, a form of water pollution, refers to contamination by excessive inputs of nutrients. It is a primary cause of eutrophication of surface waters, in which excess nutrients, usually nitrogen or phosphorus, stimulate algal growth. Sources of nutrient pollution include surface runoff from farm fields and pastures, discharges from septic tanks and feedlots, and emissions from combustion. Raw sewage is a large contributor to cultural eutrophication since sewage is high in nutrients. Releasing raw sewage into a large water body is referred to as sewage dumping, and still occurs all over the world. Excess reactive nitrogen compounds in the environment are associated with many large-scale environmental concerns. These include eutrophication of surface waters, harmful algal blooms, hypoxia, acid rain, nitrogen saturation in forests, and climate change.
The Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive 1991 European Union directive concerning urban waste water "collection, treatment and discharge of urban waste water and the treatment and discharge of waste water from certain industrial sectors". It aims "to protect the environment from adverse effects of waste water discharges from cities and "certain industrial sectors". Council Directive 91/271/EEC on Urban Wastewater Treatment was adopted on 21 May 1991, amended by the Commission Directive 98/15/EC.
The Waste Framework Directive (WFD) is a European Union Directive concerned with "measures to protect the environment and human health by preventing or reducing the adverse impacts of the generation and management of waste and by reducing overall impacts of resource use and improving the efficiency of such use". The first Waste Framework Directive dates back to 1975. It had previously been substantially amended in 1991 and 2006. The present directive was adopted on 19 November 2008.
The Floods Directive is legislation in the European Parliament on the assessment and management of flood risks. The floods directive basically prescribes a three-step procedure:
The Drinking Water Directive 2020 is an EU law that protects the quality of drinking water and forms part of the regulation of water supply and sanitation in the European Union.
The term environmental persistent pharmaceutical pollutants (EPPP) was first suggested in the nomination in 2010 of pharmaceuticals and environment as an emerging issue in a Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) by the International Society of Doctors for the Environment (ISDE). The occurring problems from EPPPs are in parallel explained under environmental impact of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCP). The European Union summarizes pharmaceutical residues with the potential of contamination of water and soil together with other micropollutants under "priority substances".
The Marine Strategy Framework Directive is a European Directive aimed at achieving or maintaining Good Environmental Status (GES) in European marine regions and sub-regions by the year 2020 at the latest for 11 descriptors. These descriptors include: D1 Biodiversity, D2 Non-indigenous species, D3 Commercial fish and shellfish, D4 Food webs, D5 Eutrophication, D6 Seafloor integrity, D7 Hydrographic conditions, D8 Environmental contaminants, D9 Contaminants in seafood, D10 Marine Litter, and D11 Introduction of energy, including noise.
Since the late 1970s, the European Union's (EU) policy has been to develop and drive appropriate measures to improve air quality throughout the EU. The control of emissions from mobile sources, improving fuel quality and promoting and integrating environmental protection requirements into the transport and energy sector are part of these aims.
International Commission for the Protection of the Rhine (ICPR) and its contract shows alignment with the UN Convention on international watercourses and has proven effective in its goals for the Rhine and the Rhine Basin. It was necessary for a treaty to come through the countries in the Rhine basin as it provides water based on industrial and agricultural needs and provides drinking water to over 20 million people.
The Deltarhine region is a river basin district of the Rhine basin, consisting of the Dinkel, the Berkel, and the Oude IJssel regional river basins. It covers 11,000 square kilometres and straddles the German-Dutch border, with 65% in the Netherlands and 35% in Germany.
Denmark consists of the northern part of the Jutland peninsula and an archipelago of 406 islands bordering both the Baltic Sea and North Sea, and has substantial maritime influence. This prominence is attributed to its expansive coastline, which is the 17th longest in the world, alongside a sizeable Exclusive Economic Zone and role as an Arctic power. Denmark is also home to Mærsk, the world's second largest shipping company and Ørsted, an industry leader in offshore wind, and ranks as the fifth largest seafaring nation in the world[When?].
The Groundwater Directive is an EU directive establishing specific measures as provided for in the Water Framework Directive in order to prevent and control groundwater pollution.
Micropollutants are substances that even at very low concentrations have adverse effects on different environmental matrices. They are an inhomogeneous group of atroprogenic chemical compounds that is discharged by human to the environment. Commonly known micropollutants that might pose possible threats to ecological environments are, to name just a few:
