Page 299 - Freshwater-Biology-and-Ecology-Handbook

Box 6.3
EEA Report, 2018

Key messages

• On a European scale, around 40% of the surface water bodies are in Good or High ecological status or potential,
with lakes and coastal waters having better status than rivers and transitional waters.

• The status of many individual elements (biological quality elements and supporting physico-chemical and
hydromorphological quality elements) that make up the ecological status is generally better than the overall
ecological status.

• The overall ecological status has not improved since the first RBMPs, but has improved for some biological quality
elements from the first to the second RBMPs.

• The main pressures are point and diffuse source pollution, and various hydromorphological pressures.
Diffuse source pollution affects 38% of surface water bodies and point source pollution affects 18%, while
hydromorphological pressures affect 40%.

• The main impacts of the pressures on surface water bodies are nutrient enrichment, chemical pollution and altered
habitats due to morphological changes.

• Member States have made marked efforts to improve water quality and hydromorphology. Some of the measures have
immediate effect; others will result in improvement in the longer run. Effects are usually visible at the level of individual
quality elements but often do not translate into an overall improved ecological status.

The EEA report provides the following overview of Ecological Status across Europe:

Overall, around 40% of the surface water bodies are in Good or better ecological status, while 60%
did not achieve Good status (Figure 6.18). Lakes and coastal waters are in better status than rivers
and transitional waters. The ecological status of natural water bodies is generally better than the
ecological potential of heavily modified and artificial water bodies.

Freshwater Biology and Ecology Handbook | 299
–