European Groundwater Directive

Developed under Article 17 of the Water Framework Directive (WFD), the new European Groundwater Directive (GWD) sets out criteria for assessing the chemical status of groundwater bodies. In accordance with an analysis of pressures and... 

Protection of water sources is critical to economic viability as well as to human and environmental health. This has been evident for many decades, but just in the 1980s, the European Community started to adopt legislative measures to evaluate and preserve groundwater and also to implement bans on pesticides which at first concerned mainly persistent organochlorine compounds. Along the years, various European Community Directives have addressed these issues in the European Union, among them ... 

The key points (above) are not exhaustive but show the similarities between the two sets of controls, where, for example, composite liners, leachate collection and treatment, gas collection, and groundwater monitoring are common. The proposals for the European Landfill Directive have not been ratified, and at the time of writing, the future of the Directive remains uncertain. However, irrespective of the fate of the Directive, many of the requirements are already being implemented in many European countries. 

Bentazone has been monitored in the NRA Anglian Region since 1993 and the results show that bentazone is regularly present in surface and groundwaters. Currently there are no restrictions on its use, but bentazone is due to be reviewed under the Authorizations Directive, the new European legislation for pesticide approvals, and the issue of water pollution will be raised. 

Directive (2006) 2006/118/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2006 on the protection of groundwater against pollution and deterioration... 

Council of the European Communities (1980) Directive 80/68/EEC on the protection of groundwater against pollution caused by certain dangerous substances. Off J Eur Community L 20 43... 

Technical Guidance Document and Water Framework Directive approaches EU member state, North American, and other international approaches) and the way in which they are implemented (e.g., mandatory pass or fail probabilistic, e.g., 95th percentiles or tiered risk assessment frameworks). Soil and water standards were considered, as were values for the protection of human health and the natural environment. The focus was on European regulatory frameworks, although expert input was sought from other jurisdictions internationally. Chemical standards for aquatic (water and sediment) and terrestrial (soil and groundwater) systems were the main focus for the meeting. This workshop built on, and included some participants from, a 1998 SETAC workshop Re-evaluation of the State of the Science for Water-Quality Criteria Development (Reiley et al. 2003). 

Figure 14 The conceptual hydrogeological model of the Palmottu, Finland research site. The arrows indicate the measured flow directions, the distribution of groundwater types is shown, and some of the measured and inferred geochemical processes are also indicated (Blomqvist et al., 2000) (reproduced by permission of European Commission from The Palmottu Natural Analogue Project, Phase II Transport of Radionuclides in a Natural Flow...

European Union (2006) Protection of groundwater against pollution and deterioration, European Parliament and Council Directive 2006/118/EC, OJ, L372, 12 December. 

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