Experiences and Lessons Learned on the Implementation of the Water Framework Directive in Selected European River Basins

Abstract

River basins worldwide are under pressure from economic activities. In Europe, the two main factors hindering the achievement of good chemical and ecological status of European river basins are pollution, mainly coming from agriculture, and hydromorphology (e.g. for navigation, hydroelectricity and flood control). The economic activities affect the chemical and ecological status of rivers, lakes and groundwater and deplete available soil, sediments and water resources. The wide range of these activities and the eco-hydrological complexity of many river basins, both in terms of the functioning of the soil–sediment–water system and of the links between water quantity, quality and economic activities, make the integrated management of river basins extremely complex. Approaches to this management across Europe have been dramatically impacted by the introduction of the European Water Framework Directive (WFD). The WFD promotes the integrated management of water resources based on the natural geographical and hydrological unit of the river basin rather than administrative or political boundaries. In this chapter, experiences and recommendations on the implementation of the WFD in a number of representative river basins across Europe are described and regarded as a support on the implementation of the WFD in the Ebro river basin.