European Union Water Framework Directive Research Articles

Policy coherence for ecosystem-based management: Implementing EU water and marine policies in the Archipelago Sea

The European Union (EU) Water Framework Directive (WFD) and Marine Strategic Framework Directive (MSFD) call for member states to achieve the good environmental status of coastal waters and marine areas and to create ecosystem-based management plans that cover individual sectors. The Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission (HELCOM) has listed the Archipelago Sea as an environmental hotspot in the Baltic Sea due to its vulnerability to the impacts of eutrophication. Agricultural runoff is the main source of excess nutrient loading, although aquaculture, tourism, wastewater treatment and internal loading also contribute. In this paper, we focus on the horizontal and vertical policy coherence in the Archipelago Sea region. The research data consist of policy documents and 11 thematic interviews. This paper aims to reveal how European water and marine policies are implemented in the Archipelago Sea and to identify the synergies and coherence challenges exist between policy sectors of agriculture, aquaculture and offshore wind. Evidence from the Archipelago Sea case study shows that a lack of coherence between sectoral policies can create challenges for ecosystem-based management. Moreover, the coherence and synergies in implementing regional and EU marine policy frameworks at the national and local levels can guide sectoral decisions towards strengthening of marine resilience and biodiversity.

Green and sensitive method combining ultrasonic solvent extraction, stir bar sorptive extraction and thermal desorption-gas chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry for determination of organotin compounds in sediment

A method integrating ultrasonic solvent extraction (USE) and stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) with thermal desorption-gas chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (TD-GC–MS/MS) was developed and validated for determining critical organotin compounds (OTCs)—tributyltin (TBT) and triphenyltin (TPhT)—in sediment. In preparing a 0.5 g sediment sample, two 1-min cycles of US bath solvent extraction (using equal parts CH3COOH and MeOH), were followed by derivatization with NaBEt4 in the presence of a methanolic-aqueous solution of CH3COONa and SBSE for 1 h, achieving analyte recoveries of 64–94 %. Matrix-matched internal standard calibration and the use of an isotopically labelled recovery standard corrected for analyte losses and matrix effect (ME), ensuring accurate results for triorganotins. However, the method was not suitable for mono- and diorganotins due to low and anomalous recoveries caused by ME. Miniaturizing and optimizing the sample preparation reduced chemicals use and waste, contributing to the method being deemed ’an excellent green analysis’ by the Analytical Eco-Scale assessment. The method achieved a limit of quantification (LOQ) of 0.081 ng g−1 and an expanded uncertainty (U) value of 15 % for TBT, meeting the environmental quality standards (EQS) criteria of the European Union Water Framework Directive. Its applicability was demonstrated through the analysis of actual sediment samples and natural matrix certified reference materials.

Defining the maximum nitrogen surplus in water management plans to recover nitrate polluted aquifers in Spain

Nitrate pollution in aquifers is a global concern. Spain has developed a national strategy to recover nitrate polluted aquifers aligned with the European Union (EU) policies, specifically through the water planning under the EU Water Framework Directive. River basin management plans use PATRICAL model results to define the maximum nitrogen surplus in each polluted aquifer for the first time. The maximum nitrogen surplus allows to reach the good status in each aquifer and the model provides the number of years required.Around 30% of the aquifers in Spain is currently heavily polluted by nitrates. Model results show that 90% of these aquifers can be recovered in next 6–12 years by increasing nitrogen use efficiency and reducing nitrogen losses around 50%, which is in line with the EU Farm to Fork Strategy. The remaining aquifers require additional reductions to achieve the good status. In Spain this increase in nitrogen efficiency can be obtained with different measures including 30% reduction of current fertilization.

Can Short-Term Online-Monitoring Improve the Current WFD Water Quality Assessment Regime? Systematic Resampling of High-Resolution Data from Four Saxon Catchments

The European Union Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC; WFD) aims to achieve a good ecological and chemical status of all bodies of surface water by 2027. The development of integrated guidance on surface water chemical monitoring (e.g., WFD Guidance Document No. 7/19) has been transferred into national German law (Ordinance for the Protection of Surface Waters, OGewV). For the majority of compounds, this act requires monthly sampling to assess the chemical quality status of a body of surface water. To evaluate the representativeness of the sampling strategy under the OGewV, high-frequency online monitoring data are investigated under different sampling scenarios and compared with current, monthly grab sampling data. About 23 million data points were analyzed for this study. Three chemical parameters (dissolved oxygen, nitrate-nitrogen, and chloride concentration) and discharge data were selected from four catchments of different sizes, ranging from 51,391 km2 to 84 km2 (Elbe, Vereinigte Mulde, Neiße and two stations at Lockwitzbach). In this paper, we propose short-term online-monitoring (STOM) as a sampling alternative. STOM considers the placement of online sensors over a limited duration and return interval. In general, we: (I) compare the results of conventional grab sampling with STOM, (II) investigate the different performance of STOM and grab sampling using discharge data as a proxy for analyzing event-mobilized pollutants, and (III) investigate the related uncertainties and costs of both sampling methods. Results show that STOM outperforms grab sampling for parameters where minimum/maximum concentrations are required by law, as the probability of catching a single extreme value is higher with STOM. Furthermore, parameters showing a pronounced diurnal pattern, such as dissolved oxygen, are also captured considerably better. The performance of STOM showed no substantial improvements for parameters with small concentration variability, such as nitrogen-nitrate or chloride. The analysis of discharge events as a proxy parameter for event-mobilized pollutants proves that the probability of capturing samples during events is significantly increased by STOM.

Adapting Hydropower to European Union Water Law: Flexible Governance versus Legal Effectiveness in Sweden and Finland

AbstractIn both Sweden and Finland, water law has traditionally provided strong protection for hydropower operations by issuing permanent environmental licences. This national protection has started to erode as a result of the requirement of the European Union (EU) Water Framework Directive (WFD) for permit reviews to improve the ecological status of rivers. In the light of this dynamic between European and national frameworks, this article compares the Swedish and Finnish implementation of the WFD regarding existing hydropower operations. Whereas Sweden has adopted comprehensive legislative and policy reforms that embrace a systemic perspective on reconciling hydropower with the current societal and ecological circumstances, Finland has relied on bottom-up collaborative processes at the grassroots level. The article shows that both approaches are problematic in so far as they push the boundaries of proper implementation of the WFD and, by extension, the achievement of the ecological objectives of the WFD in waters affected by hydropower. Our comparison highlights tensions between EU law requirements for formal legal effectiveness in national implementation, and the WFD's aspirations for adaptive river basin-based governance.

Ecosystem accounting for water resources at the catchment scale, a case study for the Peloponnisos, Greece

The System of Environmental-Economic Accounts - Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA EA) has become the world’s leading natural capital accounting system. It provides a valuable decision-making tool for spatial planning and integrated development. SEEA implementation is a current key challenge for European Union (EU) Member States (MS), mainly due to high requirements on budget, technical capacity, and data, varying between countries. Within this frame, the objective of this paper is to demonstrate how the SEEA framework can be applied to analyse water ecosystems at river basin scale, building exclusively upon the officially registered, standardized national and EU datasets. We test how water resources can be accounted for using SEEA EA, with an additional component assessing water use based on SEEA Water. Within the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD), two reporting cycles of river basin management plans have been completed for water ecosystems, providing spatial and temporal datasets. This material together with numerous data available at EU and national levels, water-relevant databases and repositories, resulting from MS reporting obligations, are tested and utilised for water accounting. The Alfeios river basin in Western Peloponnisos Greece serves as the case study area for compiling extent accounts, condition accounts, and supply and use accounts for provisioning water ecosystem services (drinking and irrigation water) for the periods 2009–2015 and 2015–2021 (the two WFD reporting cycles). It is demonstrated that readily available EU datasets can support the initial mapping and compiling of water ecosystem accounts at local scale, as applied in Greece, and therefore potentially also in other EU countries with fragmented data scattered in various administrative services and authorities with overlapping responsibilities on water resources. It is also concluded that future WFD reporting cycles and revisions of the river basin management plans could be better structured to enable a more direct connection of the collected data to ecosystem accounts.

Non-Indigenous Freshwater Fishes as Indicators of Ecological Quality in Running Waters

The European Union Water Framework Directive (WFD) is a comprehensive initiative guiding river basin water management, addressing pressures such as pollution from diffuse and point sources, and hydromorphological alterations. However, pressures that can deteriorate the ecological quality of water bodies through biotic changes (i.e., by the introduction of non-indigenous species) are not rigorously addressed by the WFD. This study explores associations between conventional ecological quality indices based on physicochemical and biotic quality elements (fish and macroinvertebrates) against the presence and densities of non-indigenous freshwater fish species (NIFS) in lotic ecosystems of Greece, aiming to unravel the potential usage of NIFS in future ecological assessments. The dataset comprises 277 samplings at 115 sites, covering physicochemical and biotic (fish and macroinvertebrate) quality indices, and anthropogenic pressure variables. Based on our findings, the occurrence and densities of four NIFS (Lepomis gibbosus, Pseudorasbora parva, Gambusia holbrooki, and Carassius gibelio) were highly associated with the ecological quality assessments of the applied indices. Higher occurrences and densities of these NIFS were related to samplings of lower ecological quality. In addition, NIFS exhibited a positive association with anthropogenic pressures, likely due to their adaptability to less optimal environmental conditions or higher tolerance to pollution and other stressors. Our findings underscore the need for a paradigm shift in ecological quality assessments, emphasizing the use of NIFS either as a potential indicator of ecosystem health or as a pressure that deteriorates ecological quality.

Towards ecological flows: status of the benthic macroinvertebrate community during summer low-flow periods in a regulated lowland river

Climate change along with the increasing exploitation of water resources exacerbates low-flow periods, causing detrimental effects on riverine communities. The main mitigation measure currently adopted to counteract hydrological alterations induced by off-stream diversion is the release of minimum flows (MFs), even if within the European Union Water Framework Directive an upgrade towards ecological flows is urgently required to achieve good ecological status (GES). In this study, we investigated the temporal evolution of the benthic macroinvertebrate community in an Italian-regulated lowland river (Ticino River) to clarify the ecological effects of summer low flows, and we evaluated the current MFs in the perspective of meeting GES standard. Biomonitoring was carried out for four consecutive years (2019-2022), in a river site immediately below a large off-stream diversion. The four study years were characterized by different streamflow patterns, thus allowing us to compare the temporal trajectories of the community under different flow conditions. Moreover, the interruption of the low-flow periods due to overflow spilled by the upstream dam gave us the opportunity to assess the effects of experimental flow peaks. Contrary to the expectation, the macroinvertebrate assemblage kept almost unvaried across the years, showing great resistance and resilience to hydrological changes. Even in extraordinarily dry 2022, the community composition varied only slightly, with a reduction of mayflies and an increase of mollusks. However, a deterioration of the ecological status below GES standard was recorded that summer, indicating the need for an upgrading of the current MFs. This upgrade would include experimental flow peaks in critical periods, which act as intermediate disturbances, enhancing community richness, diversity, and overall quality, as well as compliance with a threshold of an index specifically developed for the hydrological pressure.

Detection of Diclofenac-Induced Alterations in Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) Using Quantitative Stereological Methods.

In 2013, the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug diclofenac (DCF) was included in the watch list for emerging pollutants under the European Union Water Framework Directive. Frequently, monitoring data revealed DCF concentrations in surface waters exceeding the proposed environmental quality standards of 0.04 µg L-1 and 0.126 µg L-1 . In recent literature, the possible effects of DCF on fish are discussed controversially. To contribute to a realistic risk assessment of DCF, a 28-day exposure experiment was carried on rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). To warrant reliability of data, experiments were conducted considering the Criteria for Reporting and Evaluating Ecotoxicity Data. The test concentrations of DCF used (0.1, 0.5, 1, 5, 25, and 100 µg L-1 ) also included environmentally relevant concentrations. The lowest-observed-effect concentration (LOEC) for a significant decrease in the plasma concentrations of the DCF biomarker prostaglandin E2 was 0.5 µg L-1 (male fish). For objective evaluation of relevant histomorphological parameters of gills and trunk kidneys, unbiased quantitative stereological methods were applied. In the gills, significant increases in the thickness of the secondary lamella and in the true harmonic mean of barrier thickness in secondary lamellae were present at DCF concentrations of 25 µg L-1 and 100 µg L-1 . In the trunk kidneys, the absolute and relative volumes of nephrons were significantly decreased, paralleled by a significant increase of the volume of the interstitial renal tissue. With regard to quantitative histomorphological alterations in the trunk kidney, the observed LOEC was 0.5 µg L-1 . The quantitative histomorphological analyses that were conducted allow identification and objective quantification of even subtle but significant morphological effects and thus provide an important contribution for the comparability of study results for the determination of no-observed-effect concentrations(NOEC). Environ Toxicol Chem 2023;42:859-872. © 2023 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC.

A Novel Wastewater Load Allocation Approach for River Basins Using Simulation-Optimization Models

In this study, a new wastewater load allocation approach using a linked simulation-optimization model is proposed to determine the receiving body-based discharge limits by considering the discharge standards used by the European Union Water Framework Directive. By using the proposed approach, wastewater loads of point sources can be determined in such a way that the parameters exceeding the water quality targets (WQT) in receiving water bodiesmeet the relevant WQT. The simulation part is used to determine pollutantconcentrations throughout the river system using the AQUATOX water quality simulation model. However, since AQUATOX is an independent simulation modeland its source code is not publicly available, it is not possible to execute it with the optimization model for the generated load combinations. Therefore, a concentration-response matrix (CRM) is developed as a surrogate water simulation model by using the outputsoftheAQUATOX model. After this process, the developed CRMis integrated into an optimization model where the heuristic differential evolution (DE) optimization approach is used. The performance of the proposed simulation-optimization approach is evaluated on a sub-watershed of the Kucuk Menderes River Basin by considering different wasteload allocation scenarios for the CBOD5 water quality parameter. The results showed that the proposed simulation-optimization approach can effectively allocate the wastewater loads among different point sources by considering the WQT values of the CBOD5 parameter.

Calculating Required Purification Effort to Turn Source Water Into Drinking Water Using an Adapted CCME Water Quality Index

AbstractThe 2000 European Union Water Framework Directive (WFD) states that “Member States shall ensure the necessary protection for the bodies of water identified with the aim of avoiding deterioration in their quality in order to reduce the level of purification treatment required in the production of drinking water.” However, it does not specify how to evaluate or quantify this level of purification treatment. We propose a novel water quality index (WQI) to quantify the level of purification treatment required to prepare drinking water from source water. It is based on the WQI of the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME WQI). Our WQI compares measured contaminant concentrations in source water to drinking water guidelines and any exceedance is weighted by a measure of the resilience of that contaminant to the treatment processes, which is not possible in the CCME WQI. Furthermore, it accommodates for varying sampling frequencies that are characteristic of the ongoing monitoring program. These adaptations make our index robust and sensitive to relevant changes in source water quality. We calculated index scores for source water from the Rhine and the Meuse and found no general decrease in required purification treatment levels since the introduction of the WFD.

В УКРАЇНІ ВИДАНО ПЕРШИЙ НАВЧАЛЬНИЙ ПОСІБНИК З ГІДРОГРАФІЇ ТА ВОДНИХ РЕСУРСІВ ЄВРОПИ (2023 Р.)

The article presents and analyzes the training manual “Hydrography and Water Resources of Europe”, published by the professor Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv V.K. Khilchevskyi in 2023. The first training manual k published in Ukraine on this topic briefly outlines the basics of EU water policy, characterizes rivers, lakes and reservoirs on a regional basis (UN geoscheme – Northern, Western, Southern and Eastern Europe), as well as seas washing the shores of Europe. The problems of global water resources are considered, the ranking of European countries in terms of renewable water resources and the index of water resource exploitation is given. In the context of all directions, questions on Ukraine were considered. In Europe, hydrographic surveys are of great importance for water management. In particular, according to the European Union Water Framework Directive (WFD) adopted in 2000, the hydrographic zoning of countries’ territories is an important step for creating river basin management plans in the implementation of water policy. This approach is used by both EU member states and other European countries that have taken the provisions of the EU WFD as the basis for their activities. Water resources in a broad sense are all the waters of the hydrosphere, including the waters of the oceans and seas, rivers and lakes, groundwater, and glaciers. In practice, both in Europe and in many countries of the world, the concept of “water resources” is interpreted in a narrower sense – these are fresh surface and groundwater that are in water bodies and are used or can be used by humans. Water resources are managed according to the basin principle, but water resources are taken into account within individual countries. For. structuring the presentation of the material in this tutorial, the division of Europe into subregions according to the UN geoscheme was chosen, according to which 4 subregions are distinguished: Northern Europe; Western Europe; Southern Europe; Eastern Europe – a total of 44 countries whose capitals are located in this part of the world. But geopolitically, Europe includes 50 sovereign states. Their territory is within the framework of the general definition of Europe, they have membership in international European organizations. The content of the manual is structured into four parts: I – Physical-geographical and economic-geographical characteristics of Europe; II – EU Environmental and Water Policy; ІІІ – Hydrography; IV – Water resources. The training manual is intended for students enrolled in the educational program “Management and Ecology of Water Resources”, specialty 103 “Earth Sciences”. It can also be useful for students of other educational programs of specialties 103 “Earth Sciences” and 106 “Geography”, which study water resources.

A year-long study of the occurrence and risk of over 140 contaminants of emerging concern in wastewater influent, effluent and receiving waters in the Republic of Ireland

Despite being a developed country in the European Union (EU), knowledge of the nature and extent of contamination of water bodies with contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) in Ireland is limited. In this study, >140 CECs including pharmaceuticals, pesticides and personal care products were monitored in monthly samples of wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) influent, effluent and receiving surface waters at both an urban and a rural location (72 samples in total) in Ireland over a 12-month period in 2018–2019. In total, 58 CECs were detected, including several EU Water Framework Directive Watch List compounds. Of all classes, the highest concentrations were measured for pharmaceuticals across all media, i.e., propranolol in surface waters (134 ng·L−1), hydrochlorothiazide in effluent (1067 ng·L−1) and venlafaxine in influent wastewater (8273 ng·L−1). Overall, high wastewater treatment removal was observed and a further reduction in CEC occurrence and concentration was measured via dilution in the receiving river environment. Lastly, an environmental risk assessment (ERA) was performed using risk quotients (RQ), which revealed that in surface waters, total RQ for all CECs was an order of magnitude lower than in effluents. The majority of CECs in surface waters posed a lower risk except E2 and EE2 which presented a medium risk (RQs of 3.5 and 1.1, respectively) in the rural area. This work represents the most comprehensive CEC monitoring dataset to date for Ireland which allowed for an ERA prioritisation to be performed for the first time.

Planktothrix agardhii versus Planktothrix rubescens: Separation of Ecological Niches and Consequences of Cyanobacterial Dominance in Freshwater.

Cyanobacteria dominate lakes under diverse trophic conditions. Of these, two harmful filamentous cyanobacterial species, namely Planktothrix agardhii and P. rubescens, occupy completely different ecological niches in which they can form dense populations. In the present study, we investigated the effects of environmental conditions on the growth and vertical distribution of these species in lakes of different trophic statuses. Moreover, we underscored certain inconveniences in the assessment of the ecological status of lakes according to the European Union Water Framework Directive. The highest biomass of P. agardhii was recorded in eutrophic lake at a depth of 0.5-1 m, under high light intensity. Meanwhile, the highest biomass of P. rubescens, at which the deep chlorophyll maximum was recorded, was observed in mesotrophic lakes at a depth of 11-12 m, often below the euphotic zone under very low light intensity. P. rubescens, but not P. agardhii, exerted a strong allelopathic effect on the diversity and biomass of phytoplankton. Moreover, both species utilised different dissolved nitrogen fractions for their growth; specifically, P. agardhii used ammonium nitrogen, whilst P. rubescens used nitrate nitrogen. Furthermore, dissolved phosphorus produced a potentially limiting effect on P. rubescens growth. Overall, the tested Polish PMPL, German PSI, and Estonian phytoplankton indices were indeed useful in the assessment of the ecological status of lakes, albeit limited to the eutrophic lake with a high biomass of cyanobacteria (P. agardhii) in the upper water layers. However, problems arose in the proper assessment of lakes with a high biomass of cyanobacteria (P. rubescens) with a deep chlorophyll maximum outside the range of the euphotic zone. In such cases, two of the tested indices, namely the Polish and German indices, allowed sample collection from the euphotic layers, which significantly affected the number of samples included in the calculation. Consequently, the correct calculation of the ecological status of the lake was uncertain. Only the Estonian index allowed for a sample collection from two to three thermal layers of water, including the bloom layer of P. rubescens. Hence, the Estonian index offered the best fit for calculations.

Wide-scope target and suspect screening of emerging contaminants in sewage sludge from Nigerian WWTPs by UPLC-qToF-MS

There is currently a paucity of scientific data in Africa on the analysis and occurrence of emerging contaminants in sewage sludge. In this work, the occurrence of European Union (EU) Water Framework Directive priority substances and wide-range emerging contaminants were investigated and discussed comprehensively in the sewage sludge samples from three different wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in Lagos, Nigeria. The identification strategy was implemented by target and suspect screening in liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry. 250 compounds were identified in the sewage sludge samples from the investigated WWTPs. From 250 detected compounds, 182 compounds were quantified, and 78 compounds significantly show high environmental risk score (calculated from provisional no-effect concentrations values (PNEC) as well as their environmental quality data (EQs)). Most of contaminants detected at high amount belong to pharmaceuticals and are from hospital WWTP. While the highest concentration (72.4 mg kg−1) was measured for salicylic acid (a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug), antibiotics showed high concentrations up to 24.4 and 28.4 mg kg−1 for ciprofloxacin and ofloxacin, respectively. Three simple factors including frequency of exceedance, frequency of occurrence and extent of exceedance were used to aid prioritization of these substances in future monitoring campaigns. This work presents the first comprehensive and wide-scope screening of a large number of emerging contaminants in sewage sludge from Nigerian WWTPs.

A systems approach to modelling phosphorus pollution risk in Scottish rivers using a spatial Bayesian Belief Network helps targeting effective mitigation measures

Water quality remains a main reason for the failure of waterbodies to reach Good Ecological Status (GES) under the European Union Water Framework Directive (WFD), with phosphorus (P) pollution being a major cause of water quality failures. Reducing P pollution risk in agricultural catchments is challenging due to the complexity of biophysical drivers along the source-mobilisation-delivery-impact continuum. While there is a need for place-specific interventions, the evidence supporting the likely effectiveness of mitigation measures and their spatial targeting is uncertain. We developed a decision-support tool using a Bayesian Belief Network that facilitates system-level thinking about P pollution and brings together academic and stakeholder communities to co-construct a model appropriate to the region of interest. The expert-based causal model simulates the probability of soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) concentration falling into the WFD high/good or moderate/poor status classifications along with the effectiveness of three mitigation measures including buffer strips, fertiliser input reduction and septic tank management. In addition, critical source areas of pollution are simulated on 100 × 100 m raster grids for seven catchments (12–134 km2) representative of the hydroclimatic and land use intensity gradients in Scotland. Sensitivity analysis revealed the importance of fertiliser inputs, soil Morgan P, eroded SRP delivery rate, presence/absence of artificial drainage and soil erosion for SRP losses from diffuse sources, while the presence/absence of septic tanks, farmyards and the design size of sewage treatment works were influential variables related to point sources. Model validation confirmed plausible model performance as a “fit for purpose” decision support tool. When compared to observed water quality data, the expert-based causal model simulated a plausible probability of GES, with some differences between study catchments. Reducing fertiliser inputs below optimal agronomic levels increased the probability of GES by 5%, while management of septic tanks increased the probability of GES by 8%. Conversely, implementation of riparian buffers did not have an observable effect on the probability of GES at the catchment outlet. The main benefit of the approach was the ability to integrate diverse, and often sparse, information; account for uncertainty and easily integrate new data and knowledge.

Combining Polar Organic Chemical Integrative Samplers (POCIS) with Toxicity Testing on Microalgae to Evaluate the Impact of Herbicide Mixtures in Surface Waters.

Pesticide risk assessment within the European Union Water Framework Directive is largely deficient in the assessment of the actual exposure and chemical mixture effects. Pesticide contamination, in particular herbicidal loading, has been shown to exert pressure on surface waters. Such pollution can have direct impact on autotrophic species, as well as indirect impacts on freshwater communities through primary production degradation. The present study proposes a screening method combining polar organic chemical integrative samplers (POCIS) with mode of action-specific toxicity testing on microalgae exposed to POCIS extracts as a standard approach to effectively address the problem of herbicide mixture effects detection. This methodology has been tested using Luxembourgish rivers as a case study and has proven to be a fast and reliable information source that is complementary to chemical analysis, allowing assessment of missing target analytes. Pesticide pressure in the 24 analyzed streams was mainly exerted by flufenacet, terbuthylazine, nicosulfuron, and foramsulfuron, with occasional impacts by the nonagricultural biocide diuron. Algae tests were more sensitive to endpoints affecting photosystem II and reproduction than to growth and could be best predicted with the concentration addition model. In addition, analysis revealed that herbicide mixture toxicity is correlated with macrophyte disappearance in the field, relating mainly to emissions from maize cultures. Combining passive sampler extracts with standard toxicity tests offers promising perspectives for ecological risk assessment. The full implementation of the proposed approach, however, requires adaptation of the legislation to scientific progress. Environ Toxicol Chem 2022;41:2667-2678. © 2022 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC.

Coordination of water policies for quality and quantity: experiences from Nordic and Baltic countries

Abstract The European Union (EU) Water Framework Directive is of paramount importance for water management. According to the legal text, coordination with other directives like the Floods Directive is imperative and motivated by potential synergy effects. In this paper, the degree to which such coordination is achieved is evaluated for five Nordic and Baltic countries. The evaluation is based on legal documents, management plans, as well as on organizational structure in the five countries. The results show that the coordination between the Water Framework Directive and the Floods Directive (or flood management for Norway's case), have been successful for Estonia and Lithuania, whereas Norway, Finland, and especially Sweden need to improve more.

Alkylated Polycyclic Aromatic Compounds in Road Runoff Are an Environmental Risk and Should Be Included in Future Investigations.

Polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs) and metals are important contaminants in road runoff. Vital mitigation measures against aquatic contamination from road runoff include the use of sedimentation ponds. However, it has been demonstrated that ecosystems in sedimentation ponds might be affected by road runoff. Sediments from six natural ponds and 27 sedimentation ponds were investigated to determine the environmental risk of contaminants. The amount of traffic on the respective roads associated with the sedimentation ponds was correlated with the environmental concentrations. Quantification included seven metals, the 16 US Environmental Protection Agency polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, alkylated PACs, dibenzothiophene, benzo[e]pyrene, and perylene. The environmental risk was assessed according to the European Union Water Framework Directive guidelines. Sedimentation ponds had a higher level of contaminants than natural ponds, and environmental risks were dominated by the concentration of PACs. Alkylated PACs contributed to the environmental risk posed by PACs and should be included in future monitoring. Only Cu and Zn were measured at concentrations above the environmental quality standards (EQSs), while 13 PACs exceeded the EQS. Sediment concentrations of Cu, Zn, and most PACs correlated significantly with the amount of traffic. The sources of PACs were determined by source apportionment ratios between PACs. Alkylation and pyrogenic indices showed that sources in natural ponds were of mostly pyrogenic origin, whereas in sedimentation ponds they were predominantly petrogenic. Asphalt was the probable main source of PACs. A hierarchical clustering technique was used to investigate both the environmental risks and the pattern of PACs in the ponds and revealed that a few sedimentation ponds were not protecting the environment as intended because the upper sediment layers had not been regularly dredged. Environ Toxicol Chem 2022;41:1838–1850. © 2022 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC.

Contribution to the determination of tributyltin in water by stir bar sorptive extraction‒thermal desorption‒gas chromatography‒tandem mass spectrometry

An environmentally friendly method was developed to determine tributyltin (TBT) in water at the levels required by the European Union Water Framework Directive (EU WFD) using stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) in combination with thermal desorption‒gas chromatography‒triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry. The main focus of the method development was on addressing some aspects of reducing blank values (minimizing the use of chemicals, glassware cleaning, pretreatment of sorptive stir bars) and optimizing the SBSE procedure variables (sample volume, polarity of sample solution, extraction time). The performance of the method was studied in terms of linearity, matrix effect, method limits and accuracy (precision and trueness) using MilliQ, tap and surface water. TBT quantification limit for the studied matrices ranged from 0.049 to 0.055 ng L‒1 and repeatability (RSD%, n = 10) and recovery at the environmental quality standard (EQS) concentration of 0.2 ng L‒1 were in the range of 6‒18% and 88‒107%, respectively, indicating good performance of the method. The matrix effect of river water (‒78%) and artificial seawater (‒83%) compared to MilliQ water showed the necessity to use a matrix-matched calibration when analysing TBT in surface water samples. The developed sample preparation was further evaluated for greenness using the recently introduced AGREEprep assessment, which revealed a much greener performance of the proposed method over the compared CEN/TS 16692 method. The method meets the requirements of the EU WFD and is suitable for monitoring, evaluation and classification of the chemical status of surface waters.