Water Framework Directive Objectives Research Articles

Bridging gaps in groundwater management in International River Basin Districts (IRBDs) – through harmonized monitoring and data sharing

Study regionEurope, with focus on Scandinavia (Denmark, Norway, Sweden), the Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania), Finland, Poland, and Ukraine. Study focusThe Water Framework Directive (WFD) aims to obtain harmonised holistic Europe-wide water management based on an integrated river basin management model. This study analyses the efficiency of national groundwater monitoring programmes in meeting cross-border demands for harmonised data in IRBDs. Emphasis is placed on the core parameters, oxygen content, pH, conductivity, nitrate, and ammonium, specified by the WFD to be monitored in surveillance monitoring programmes. The findings offer recommendations for national water authorities on infirmities in groundwater management and how they could improve data transparency and availability for enhanced long-term management of shared resources. New hydrological insights for the regionA questionnaire distributed to nine European countries indicates large national differences in the extent of groundwater monitoring. This study highlights several key recommendations for moving forward with transborder groundwater management. Firstly, it is imperative that all nations adhere to ISO standards for field practices and analysis. Secondly, transborder collaborative projects to harmonise e.g., design of monitoring programmes, sampling, and analysis and cooperation on data analysis must be established. Lastly, there is a need to enhance the accessibility of groundwater data and associated metadata. The achievement of the WFD objectives encounters obstacles, due to weak transborder integration and the effects related to administrative boundaries.

Are European Blue Economy ambitions in conflict with European environmental visions?

We report the outcomes of a comprehensive study of the potential consequences of the implementation of the EU Maritime Spatial Planning Directive (MSPD) in Danish waters. The analyses are anchored in a framework developed in support of data-driven Ecosystem-Based Maritime Spatial Planning. The data for the models include not only human stressors but also information on the distribution of ecosystem components ranging from planktonic communities over benthic communities to fish, seabirds and marine mammals. We have established a baseline, based on state-of-the-art data sets, with respect to combined effects upon ecosystem components. Future scenarios for the developments in human stressors were estimated for 2030 and 2050 based on information on existing policies, strategies and plans and were compared to the baseline. In addition, we developed a scenario for implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), i.e. working towards meeting the objectives of Good Environmental Status. Our results indicate that (1) combined human stressors will possibly increase in 2030 and 2050 compared to the baseline, (2) increased combined human stressors are likely to lead to a worsening of the environmental and ecological status sensu the Marine Strategy Framework Directive and the Water Framework Directive (WFD), and (3) the MSPD implementation process appears to conflict with the MSFD and WFD objectives. Accordingly, we are sceptical of claims of an untapped potential for Blue Growth in Danish marine waters.

'I think this is where this lovely word "sustainability" comes in': Fruit and vegetable growers' narratives concerning the regulation of environmental water use for food production.

This article concerns UK commercial fruit and vegetable growers' narratives regarding the sustainability of water use for food production. In it we explore their perspectives on efforts by regulators to limit agricultural withdrawals of water from the natural environment in line with EU Water Framework Directive objectives, alongside their views on retailer sustainability commitments. Discourse analysis is used to investigate how the growers contested restrictive regulation, constructed their identities, portrayed other supply chain stakeholders, and conveyed their social relations with them. Using ErvingGoffman's theory of frontstage and backstage performances, the implications for the growers' water management decisions and their internalisation of sustainability agendas for water are examined. Whilst the growers gave accounts of purposely misrepresenting their water withdrawal practices and their discourse illustrated significant polarisation between environmental and agricultural interests, their underlying commitment to environmental sustainability was ambivalent, with both anti and pro-environmental attitudes expressed. The growers also frequently gave critiques of superficial sustainability in fresh produce supply chains. We argue that, given contemporary shifting definitions of agricultural identities, settings in which their construction is negotiated can provide windows of opportunity for conventional growers to engage in genuine pro-environmental performances that may deepen their assimilation of environmental goals and commitment to sustainable water use.

Preliminary data on water quality using benthic macroinvertebrates as quality indicators: a case study in the Drin River Basin, Albania

Abstract Compliance with the Water Framework Directive has not yet been met by Albania, and further efforts are needed to achieve this goal, including the implementation of an extensive programme of monitoring of surface and groundwater bodies. Benthic macroinvertebrates are an integrated element of this monitoring programme whose results are being used to assess the achievement of the Water Framework Directive objectives. This study has been carried out strictly following protocols and methodologies of the Water Framework Directive. The biological assessment took place in 2017 at 11 monitoring stations along the Drin River in Albania. Sampled specimens have been used to assess the water quality along the Drin River Basin through a set of indices’ calculations per each group of indicators. A total of 41 benthic invertebrate taxa were used to calculate the biotic indices, finding out only 3 monitoring stations with a good status of water out of 11 monitoring stations assessed in our study; water quality in 8 monitoring stations is classified as a moderate or poor status. Statistical analysis has been carried out to identify the trend of benthic invertebrates from one sampling point to another and the factors influencing the similarity between monitoring stations and benthic invertebrate families.

Towards a Good Ecological Status? The Prospects for the Third Implementation Cycle of the EU Water Framework Directive in The Netherlands

The aim of the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) is to achieve a “good” chemical and ecological status for all waters by 2027. Currently, the Netherlands and other EU Member States are finalizing their plans for the third iteration of the WFD management cycle. In this paper, we conducted an ex ante evaluation of these plans by assessing the perceptions of regional water authorities on goal attainment and the factors that account for it. In order to gain these insights, we first reviewed literature and developed a framework of factors that stimulate or hamper the implementation of the WFD. More detailed insights into the relevance and characteristics of these factors were found by applying the framework in two in-depth case studies. A more generalizable pattern was found by translating the case study results into a survey among the regional water authorities. We found that the majority of the participating water authorities expect that 50% (or more) of their WFD objectives will be achieved in 2027. However, hampering factors such as a lack of political will or the impossibility to address key causes of the problems that were identified during earlier management cycles are still present. Since it is doubtful whether they can be addressed by regional water authorities, we conclude that it will be unlikely that ecological ambitions will be met by 2027.

WFD Ecological Quality Indicators Are Poorly Correlated with Water Levels in River Catchments in Tuscany (Italy)

The Water Framework Directive (WFD) requires European countries to achieve a good ecological status of surface water bodies and demands that River District Authorities define ecological flows consistently. Nevertheless, the relationship between ecological and hydrological indicators is not fully understood and not straightforward to apply because ecological and hydrological indicators are monitored by different institutions, with different timings and purposes. This work examines the correlation between a set of ecological indicators monitored by environmental agencies (STAR-ICMi, LIMeco, IBMR, and TDI) and water levels with assigned durations monitored by the hydrologic service in Tuscany (central Italy). Reference water levels are derived from stage-duration curves obtained by the statistical analysis of daily levels in the same year of ecological sampling. The two datasets are paired through a geospatial association for the same river reach and the correlation is measured through Pearson’s r. The results show poor correlation (r between −0.33 and −0.42) between ecological indicators and hydrologic variables, confirming the findings observed in other Italian catchments with different hydrologic regimes, climate, and anthropogenic pressures. Nevertheless, the negative correlations show a decreasing water quality with water depths, i.e., in the lower part of the catchments more affected by anthropogenic pressures. These findings suggests that the determination of ecological flows with a purely hydrological approach is not sufficient for achieving WFD objectives in the study area.

Integrating Conflicting Goals of the EC Water Framework Directive and the EC Habitats Directives Into Floodplain Restoration Schemes

River floodplains are among the most threatened ecosystems of the world and their protection and restoration is of key importance for river managers. In Europe, the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and the Habitats and Birds Directives (HBDs) provide a guideline for decision processes in floodplain restoration. While the WFD, however, represents an aggregated, multiple-species approach aiming at the restoration of the natural hydrological dynamics, the single-species focused HBDs regulate the protection of the existing fauna and flora with protection status. Thus, trade-offs between rheophilic and stagnophilic aquatic organisms may hamper the definition of a compromise solution between ecological objectives of the restoration. We present an assessment scheme for the restoration of a degraded Danube floodplain near Vienna, which equally considers both WFD and HBDs objectives in a transparent and comprehensible way. Predictive hydrological and ecological models were generated for different hydrological scenarios considering the aquatic community composition (floodplain index according to WFD) as well as individual protected species (fish, amphibians, reptiles, and water birds; HBDs). Based on these models, we developed an assessment scheme which considered potential changes in the available habitats, the current conservation states, and priorities of the species. Thereby, we included experiences from other restoration projects. The results show that both the multiple-species and the single-species approach achieved a similar ranking of the hydrological scenarios, in which the scenario without any restoration measure was identified as the worst case. The multiple-species approach of the floodplain index provided a clear ranking of the hydrological scenarios and revealed a low potential of any target measure to restore the pre-regulation state of the floodplain. In contrast, the single-species approach required a much higher degree of decisions by experts, but provided a detailed insight into spatial effects of the measures on different species, thus revealing the potential for local compensation measures. Our study demonstrates that a combination of these two approaches can be an effective tool for river managers in the development of sustainable floodplain restoration schemes in accordance with the WFD, the HBDs, and national nature protection laws (here, the Nature Conservation Acts of Vienna and Lower Austria).

Including sediment in European River Basin Management Plans: twenty years of work by SedNet

PurposeThis paper describes the efforts made by SedNet—the European Sediment Network—to generate attention for the inclusion of sediment in River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs) under the European Water Framework Directive (WFD).Materials and methodsThe SedNet response to key WFD implementation events is described using the “three-streams and windows-of-opportunities model” published by John Kingdon in 1995.Results and discussionSedNet was initially a response to the realization that the WFD—which came into force in 2000—largely neglected sediment. For SedNet, it was clear from the beginning that the WFD objectives can be achieved only if sediment is included in RBMPs. The SedNet efforts inspired the establishment of a sediment management concept for the Elbe river basin. That concept was used as a basis for the full inclusion of sediment in the second Elbe RBMP (2015–2021). SedNet experts are currently involved in the drafting of the WFD Common Implementation Strategy (CIS) sediment document which will be completed in 2021 and that will provide guidance about how to include sediment in RBMPs.ConclusionsSince 2000, SedNet has persistently drawn attention to the need to include sediment in RBMPs. However, it was not until 2015 that the Elbe became the first European river basin to include sediment management fully in their RBMP. The 2021 WFD CIS sediment document and the focus on sediment in the Water Fitness Check in 2019 make it significantly more likely that the sediment will be included in the updates of WFD RBMPs in the near future.

Impact of Industrial Discharge on Aquatic Ecosystems of the Kłodnica River with Reference to Water Framework Directive Objectives

Impact of Industrial Discharge on Aquatic Ecosystems of the Kłodnica River with Reference to Water Framework Directive Objectives

Catchment Characterisation Tool: Prioritising Critical Source Areas for managing diffuse nitrate pollution

Where diffuse losses of nutrients from agriculture is a major challenge for integrated catchment management and the achievement of Water Framework Directive objectives, modelling tools can be used to target the high-risk areas and focus the limited resources available for mitigation measures. The Catchment Characterisation Tool (CCT) is a GIS-based model developed to assess the potential risk posed by nitrate and phosphate from diffuse agricultural sources to surface water and groundwater by delineating critical source areas in Irish sub-catchments. The CCT model results have been generated to support pressure-impact assessments following the source-pathway-receptor concept to target local catchment stream walks in areas where the potential impact may be higher. These risk maps can be used at a maximum scale of 1:25,000 (e.g. water body scale) to target areas for Local Catchment Assessments and are not designed or suitable to be used on their own as a basis for decisions at local or field scale. Consequently, these maps act as signposts for where further characterisation and engagement actions should be prioritised. This paper details the model structure and data requirements for the CCT for nitrate followed by validation of the results by comparing a national dataset of measured nitrate concentrations in Irish water bodies with values predicted by the CCT. The model performed well at predicting the annual average nitrate concentrations, with surface waters showing better correlation with CCT predictions than for groundwater. More detailed comparisons with intensively monitored test catchments showed satisfactory correlation between the predictions and measured concentrations. The outputs are displayed in pollution impact potential (PIP) maps that rank the modelled values so that prioritisation can be given to the higher ranked areas or critical source areas.

Integrated Water Quality Governance and Sectoral Responsibility: The EU Water Framework Directive’s Impact on Agricultural Sector Policies in Norway

In accordance with the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD), Norway has made the river basin the basis for coordination of sectoral policies. New units of River Basin Districts and Sub-Districts have been introduced. In each district, the joint water management plan and program of measures is formulated by cross-sector and multi-level networks. This network structure is added to and clearly subordinated to the primary structure following the sectoral principle and hierarchical steering. Therefore, the WFD objectives of good environmental status of all waters must be integrated into the goal structure and policy priorities of different sector authorities and levels of government. This paper examines whether and, if so, how the activities within the secondary structure of water governance influence the policies and practices of the agricultural sector regarding diffuse water pollution mitigation. The analyses of sector policy documents and water management plans reveal that even though the WFD’s aim of good ecological status of water is integrated into the objectives of the agricultural environmental program, only minor changes have been made in instrument targets and settings. Economic incentives and voluntary measures still dominate. This leads to the conclusion that the corporatist governance mode of the agriculture sector dominates the sector’s choice of policy objectives and instruments.

Reduction of stream nitrate concentrations by land management in contrasted landscapes

Optimizing management practices at the plot scale is sometimes not sufficient to reach water framework directive objectives for nitrate pollution. Land management measures involving targeted setting aside of croplands is a promising solution, but its efficiency depends on the local context. We used a distributed agro-hydrological model to compare management interventions intended to decrease vertical and lateral nitrate leaching from soil to groundwater and stream water in two contrasted agricultural catchments. The simulated scenarios combined two strategies: optimization of agricultural practices and land-use conversion from agricultural to natural land at different locations within the catchments. Long-term climate, discharge, and nitrate concentrations have been monitored for the two catchments and agricultural practices are well known over the 13-year simulation period (2002–2015). The Kervidy-Naizin site (KN) is subject to intense livestock pressure with mean nitrogen inputs of 257 kg ha−1 year−1, while the Aurade site (AU) is primarily cereal cultivation with nitrogen inputs of 109 kg ha−1 year−1. The results highlight a large nitrogen legacy in KN, resulting in a progressive and long lived (> 10 years) response to changes in management, while in AU, this response is perceptible after only 5–7 years. For both catchments, the most effective scenario involves wide riparian buffer strips in interception position covering about 15% of the catchment area. In KN, this land conversion scenario, simulated with the agro-hydrological model TNT2, created a decrease of nitrate concentration in stream water by 25% versus 15% in AU. Contrastingly, the implementation of best management practices decreased stream nitrate concentration only by 9% for KN and 4% for AU.

Water Framework Directive programmes of measures: Lessons from the 1st planning cycle of a catchment in England

The European Union's Water Framework Directive (WFD) required Member States to establish programmes of measures to achieve good water status formally by 2015, but on postponing the deadline by two six-year periods, by 2027 at the latest. With many Member States facing problems with developing such measures in the first planning cycle, and limited change in ecological status since the first river basin management plans were reported, we look at the implementation of the Directive in England, where only 17% of the surface water bodies were found at good status in 2015, a reduction of 4% since 2009. Using as a case study the Broadland Rivers catchment, we examine the measures taken for Cycle 1 and changes in the classifications of water body status, to investigate whether the way the measures were developed could have limited their potential to deliver WFD objectives. While the WFD was adopted to succeed and replace management practices targeting individually non-compliant element, findings indicate that little had changed in the way measures were developed. Although considerable progress has been made on the implementation of these measures, the limited progress in improving classifications demonstrates the limits of this approach and further makes the case for what the WFD was introduced for: the harmonised transposition of the Integrated River Basin Management paradigm, as the key for delivering good ecological status.

Environmental Flows Under the WFD Implementation

The Water Framework Directive (WFD) is the first piece of European environmental legislation addressing hydromorphological modifications and impacts on water bodies. Accordingly, in those water bodies where the hydromorphological pressures are having an impact on the ecological status, action is needed to achieve WFD objectives. Environmental flows appeared as one of the answers to this challenge. Due to their importance, Member States (MSs) have been looking to integrate ecological flows in the River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs) and Programmes of Measures (PoMs). More than seventeen years after the WFD adoption, this study aims to provide a systematic review of the use of environmental flows within the process of WFD implementation and their contribution to the achievement of environmental objectives. In order to achieve the goals of the study, a special analysis was done using: i) the WFD official documentation reporting the progress of WFD and environmental flows definition and implementation (such as the CIS Guidance n° 31), as well as, ii) the answers to key questions addressed to EU MSs representatives involved in the implementation of environmental flows. These enabled us to perceive how this topic has been addressed in MSs. Based on the gathered information the authors assessed whether a change in the environmental flows’ situation, between the 1st and 2nd RBMPs, has occurred by each MS, or whether progress on environmental flows assessments has been made. Furthermore, this study also highlights some MSs representatives comments related with the role of the Guidance n°31 and some relevant information related with the 3rd RBMPs. Even though an evolution on environmental flows assessments can be perceived, with an increase in MSs defining and incorporating environmental flows within the 2nd RBMPs and in the complexity of the conducted approaches, there is still a long way to go. Namely, it could be highlighted that more efforts are required for the: i) implementation of environmental flows and the monitoring of its effects in the water bodies status, ii) development of a verifiable link between environmental flows and biological indicators.

Progress with monitoring and assessment in the WFD implementation in five European river basins: significant differences but similar problems

The river basin approach of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and the introduction of ecological status represent a shift in the assessment and management of freshwater systems from discipline-specific to more holistic, catchment-based principles. At the core of the WFD’s approach are catchments as highly interconnected systems. Despite strict timetables, progress towards achieving the WFD objectives has been slow, with deterioration in some cases not being halted. In this paper, looking at evidence from five European basins (Adige, Anglian, Ebro, Evrotas and Sava) we identify some of the key implementation challenges faced by each catchment during the development and implementation of the 1st River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs) of 2009. Despite significant differences in socio-ecological conditions, geographic coverage and starting points in the implementation between these river basins, findings highlight some similar key issues. The lack of a common systemic understanding of each river basin and detailed monitoring data to capture pressure-status interactions in order to anticipate how the system will react to interventions; as well as compliance driven implementation efforts were underlying problems in all five study areas. While some improvements to address these problems can be seen in the 2nd River Basin Management Planning Cycle (2015–2016), our findings demonstrate that a more effective approach is to question the deviation of the whole implementation from the directive’s systemic nature and therefore improve the adaptive, collaborative, participatory and interdisciplinary nature of the implementation efforts.

Unpacking organizational capacity in the context of the Water Framework Directive

ABSTRACTEffective implementation of the European Water Framework Directive (WFD) is dependent on Member States’ national water institutions and organizations, often designated as ‘competent authorities’. Although substantial research relating to the Directive itself has been carried out, less is known about the extent to which competent authorities have the organizational capacity to deliver it. The literature notes that conceptual understanding of capacity has been hampered by lack of definitional clarity making both its management and assessment challenging. From a combination of extensive literature review, empirical data collection and thematic analysis, we develop an in-depth holistic conceptual framework for the assessment of competent authorities’ organizational capacity in the context of WFD delivery. The core thematic components of this framework encourage analysts to consider the ways in which legal authority, information and knowledge, skills, resources and leadership shape a competent authority’s ability to deliver WFD objectives. Malta is the case study used to test the application of this method. Focus is drawn on the implementation of three main WFD provisions: Articles 8, 9 and 14. The proposed conceptual framework for unpacking organizational capacity provides insights that are helpful to policy-makers for the future planning of WFD delivery as it highlights the challenges experienced by competent authorities as well as opportunities to invest in and enhance their capacity.

Towards ecohydrological nutrient management for river basin districts

Nitrogen and phosphorus emissions to ground- and surface waters must be drastically reduced to achieve the environmental objectives of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) in Europe. In order to reach the targets a four-step strategy must be followed by water managers. First, target nutrient concentrations for groundwater and surface water bodies must be defined. The second step is the quantification of nitrogen and phosphorus inputs to water bodies and the identification of dominant input pathways. Measures are planned and implemented during the third stage, and are most effective when they focus on nutrient emission pathways that are quantitatively important at river basin scale. Finally, the effect of measures must be evaluated using monitoring data, and if there is still a large distance to target the policy for implementing measures must be modified. In Germany, nitrogen and phosphorus emissions to ground- and surface waters arise mostly from agriculture. It is estimated that improving agricultural practice via a renewed Fertilization Ordinance will lower nitrogen emissions by 10–15%. Many agricultural measures aim to improve nutrient efficiency by using manure and biogas digestate as fertilizer, which has positive economic benefits for the farmer because it reduces the requirement for mineral fertilizers. However, it is clear that the WFD objectives cannot be achieved through agricultural measures alone. Therefore, nutrient retention must be improved by restoring rivers and wetlands. In areas where there is insufficient space for cost-effective natural solutions, ecohydrotechnical solutions such as drainage ponds, denitrification barriers or filter systems can be employed.

Integrated modelling for agricultural policies and water resources planning coordination

Pressures due to agricultural activities play a major role in the status of water resources systems. The evaluation of the effects of agricultural policies is therefore a key problem in water resource planning and management. The work presented in this paper is an attempt to include the predictable effects of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the European Union (EU) in the process of water resources planning at the basin scale prescribed by the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD). The approach is based on the combined use of three models: (i) an economic model used to predict the likely land use scenarios at the basin scale following CAP reform; (ii) a spatially distributed hydrological model for the assessment of the related irrigation water requirements; and (iii) a decision model supporting stakeholders and decision makers in the process of water resources planning. The paper presents an application to a pilot study area in Northern Italy. The results highlight how the CAP may produce an adjustment in the agricultural sector, with a shift towards more extensive land use and to a greater diversification of production. The predicted changes in land use type and distribution are shown to have significant influence on water requirements, with a generalised decrease of their amount, which may exceed 10% in some areas. In turn, the decrease of irrigation demand can be exploited to achieve a higher degree of satisfaction of other water users in the basin and can improve the attainment of the WFD objectives.

Environmental Risk of Metal Mining Contaminated River Bank Sediment at Redox-Transitional Zones

Diffuse metal pollution from mining impacted sediment is widely recognised as a potential source of contamination to river systems and may significantly hinder the achievement of European Union Water Framework Directive objectives. Redox-transitional zones that form along metal contaminated river banks as a result of flood and drought cycles could cause biogeochemical changes that alter the behaviour of polyvalent metals iron and manganese and anions such as sulphur. Trace metals are often partitioned with iron, manganese and sulphur minerals in mining-contaminated sediment, therefore the dissolution and precipitation of these minerals may influence the mobility of potentially toxic trace metals. Research indicates that freshly precipitated metal oxides and sulphides may be more “reactive” (more adsorbent and prone to dissolution when conditions change) than older crystalline forms. Fluctuations at the oxic-anoxic interface brought about through changes in the frequency and duration of flood and drought episodes may therefore influence the reactivity of secondary minerals that form in the sediment and the flux of dissolved trace metal release. UK climate change models predict longer dry periods for some regions, interspersed with higher magnitude flood events. If we are to fully comprehend the future environmental risk these climate change events pose to mining impacted river systems it is recommended that research efforts focus on identifying the primary controls on trace metal release at the oxic-anoxic interface for flood and drought cycles of different duration and frequency. This paper critically reviews the literature regarding biogeochemical processes that occur at different temporal scales during oxic, reducing and dry periods and focuses on how iron and sulphur based minerals may alter in form and reactivity and influence the mobility of trace metal contaminants. It is clear that changes in redox potential can alter the composition of secondary iron and sulphur minerals and influence the sorption of toxic trace metals and susceptibility to dissolution when further redox potential changes occur. However further work is needed to determine: (i) The extent to which different duration and frequency of wet and dry cycles influences the dissolution and precipitation of iron and sulphur minerals in mining contaminated river bank sediment; (ii) The temporal effects on mineral reactivity (sorption capacity and susceptibility to dissolution); (iii) The key biogeochemical processes that control the mobility of contaminant trace metals under these dynamic redox potential conditions.

Objective classification of ecological status in marine water bodies using ecotoxicological information and multivariate analysis

Some relevant shortcomings have been identified in the current approach for the classification of ecological status in marine water bodies, leading to delays in the fulfillment of the Water Framework Directive objectives. Natural variability makes difficult to settle fixed reference values and boundary values for the Ecological Quality Ratios (EQR) for the biological quality elements. Biological responses to environmental degradation are frequently of nonmonotonic nature, hampering the EQR approach. Community structure traits respond only once ecological damage has already been done and do not provide early warning signals. An alternative methodology for the classification of ecological status integrating chemical measurements, ecotoxicological bioassays and community structure traits (species richness and diversity), and using multivariate analyses (multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis), is proposed. This approach does not depend on the arbitrary definition of fixed reference values and EQR boundary values, and it is suitable to integrate nonlinear, sensitive signals of ecological degradation. As a disadvantage, this approach demands the inclusion of sampling sites representing the full range of ecological status in each monitoring campaign. National or international agencies in charge of coastal pollution monitoring have comprehensive data sets available to overcome this limitation.