INTRODUCTION TO THE WATER FRAMEWORK DIRECTIVE (WFD)

Main issues of the presentation History of European Water Policy and WFD Purpose of WFD Key aims of WFD Main components of WFD Key Actions that Member States Need to Take Integration: a key concept underlying the Water Framework Directive

History of European Water Policy and WFD The first round of water legislations: 1975 -1980 by setting standards for rivers and lakes used for drinking water abstraction. the following issues were adopted: - Fish waters - Shellfish waters - Bathing waters - Groundwater - Drinking water - Dangerous substances The second round of Directives: 1990-1996: - Nitrate Directive - Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive - Integrated Pollution and Prevention Control (IPPC) Directive

History of European Water Policy and WFD Third round: During the 1990s the need for a holistic and consistent approach in managing Europe’s water resources successively developed It also became increasingly clear that an efficient European water policy also has to involve citizens and non-governmental organisations in the water management process. As a result, in the year 2000, the Water Framework Directive was adopted, consolidating a number of existing water directives into one piece of legal framework.

History of European Water Policy and WFD The adoption of the WFD marks a new era in EU water policy since it introduces: a unified system for water management. River basins are defined as the basic unit for water management instead of administrative or political borders public participation is highlighted. The WFD represents EU’s central piece of water legislation, and provides the basis for a coherent and uniform water policy. Already existing water legislation will be considered “daughter directives” or be repealed. Several new directives under the WFD are under preparation. WFD is a minimum directive, which means that it stipulates minimum requirements but does not prevent member states from introducing stricter national regulations.

Purpose The purpose of this Directive is to establish a framework for the protection of inland surface waters, transitional waters, coastal waters and groundwater which: (a) prevents further deterioration and protects and enhances the status of aquatic ecosystems and, with regard to their water needs, terrestrial ecosystems and wetlands directly depending on the aquatic ecosystems; (b) promotes sustainable water use based on a long-term protection of available water resources; (c) aims at enhanced protection and improvement of the aquatic environment, inter alia, through specific measures for the progressive reduction of discharges, emissions and losses of priority substances and the cessation or phasing-out of discharges, emissions and losses of the priority hazardous substances;

Purpose (d) ensures the progressive reduction of pollution of groundwater and prevents its further pollution, and (e) contributes to mitigating the effects of floods and droughts and thereby contributes to: - the provision of the sufficient supply of good quality surface water and groundwater as needed for sustainable, balanced and equitable water use, - a significant reduction in pollution of groundwater,

Purpose - the protection of territorial and marine waters, and - achieving the objectives of relevant international agreements, including those which aim to prevent and eliminate pollution of the marine environment, by Community action under Article 16(3) to cease or phase out discharges, emissions and losses of priority hazardous substances, with the ultimate aim of achieving concentrations in the marine environment near background values for naturally occurring substances and close to zero for man-made synthetic substances.

Key aims of WFD expanding the scope of water protection to all waters: surface waters and groundwater achieving "good status" for all waters by a set deadline (2015) water management based on river basins "combined approach" of emission limit values and quality standards getting the prices right getting the citizen involved more closely streamlining legislation

Main components The WFD contains the following main components: Identification of river basin districts Protection of surface water and groundwater Environmental objectives; good status shall be obtained for all waters Analysis of pressures and impacts, Economic analysis Monitoring programmes River Basin Management Plan with programme of measures Public participation

A single system of water management: River basin management The best model for a single system of water management is management by river basin - the natural geographical and hydrological unit - instead of according to administrative or political boundaries. While several Member States already take a river basin approach, this is at present not the case everywhere. For each river basin district - some of which traverse national frontiers - a "river basin management plan" will need to be established and updated every six years, and this will provide the context for the co-ordination requirements identified above.  

Co-ordination of objectives - good status for all waters by a set deadline   There are a number of objectives in respect of which the quality of water is protected. The key ones at European level are: general protection of the aquatic ecology, - applied to all waters specific protection of unique and valuable habitats,- wetlands protection of drinking water resources, - drinking water abstraction and protection of bathing water – bathing areas All these objectives must be integrated for each river basin. The central requirement is that the environment be protected to a high level in its entirety.  

Surface water Ecological protection For this reason, a general requirement for ecological protection - "good ecological status" based on the quality of the biological community and the hydrological characteristics, and a general minimum chemical standard, - "good chemical status“ was introduced to cover all surface waters. Based on the chemical characteristics of water.

Surface water Chemical protection Good chemical status is defined in terms of compliance with all the quality standards established for chemical substances at European level. The Directive also provides a mechanism for renewing these standards and establishing new ones by means of a prioritisation mechanism for hazardous chemicals. This will ensure at least a minimum chemical quality, particularly in relation to very toxic substances, everywhere in the Community.  

Surface water The other uses or objectives for which water is protected, apply in specific areas, not everywhere. Therefore, specific protection zones must be designated within the river basin, which must meet these different objectives. Ecological and chemical protection is requested everywhere as a minimum, more stringent requirements will be set for the particular zones of particular uses.  

Groundwater Chemical status The case of groundwater is somewhat different. The presumption in relation to groundwater should broadly be that it should not be polluted at all. For this reason, setting chemical quality standards may not be the best approach, as it gives the impression of an allowed level of pollution to which Member States can fill up. It comprises a prohibition on direct discharges to groundwater, and (to cover indirect discharges) a requirement to monitor groundwater bodies so as to detect changes in chemical composition, and to reverse any antropogenically induced upward pollution trend. Taken together, these should ensure the protection of groundwater from all contamination, according to the principle of minimum anthropogenic impact.  

Groundwater Quantitative status Quantity is also a major issue for groundwater. There is only a certain amount of recharge into the groundwater each year, and of this recharge, some is needed to support connected ecosystems (whether they be surface water bodies, or terrestrial systems such as wetlands). For good management, only that portion of the overall recharge not needed by the ecology can be abstracted – this is the sustainable resource, and the Directive limits abstraction to that quantity.   One of the innovations of the Directive is that it provides a framework for integrated management of groundwater and surface water for the first time at European level.  

Co-ordination of measures There are a number of measures taken at Community level to tackle particular pollution problems: Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive, Nitrates Directive, Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Directive. The aim is to co-ordinate the application of these so as to meet the objectives established above. This is done through this steps:   First of all, the objectives are established for the river basin Then an analysis of human impact is conducted so as to determine how far from the objective each body of water is. The effect on the problems of each body of water of full implementation of all existing legislation is considered. If the existing legislation solves the problem, the objective of the framework Directive is attained. If it does not, the Member State must identify exactly why, and design whatever additional measures are needed to satisfy all the objectives established. These might include stricter controls on polluting emissions from industry and agriculture, or urban waste water sources, say. This should ensure full co-ordination.  

The combined approach First step, Reduce emissions at the source When it fails doing so at the wanted level, and the objective cannot be reached the second step is Mitigate the impact/effects It also sets out a framework for developing further such controls. The framework comprises the development of a list of priority substances for action at EU level, prioritised on the basis of risk; and then the design of the most cost-effective set of measures to achieve load reduction of those substances, taking into account both product and process sources.   On the effects side, it co-ordinates all the environmental objectives in existing legislation, and provides a new overall objective of good status for all waters, and requires that where the measures taken on the source side are not sufficient to achieve these objectives, additional ones are required.  

The river basin management plan All the elements of this analysis must be set out in a plan for the river basin. The plan is a detailed account of how the objectives set for the river basin (ecological status, quantitative status, chemical status and protected area objectives) are to be reached within the timescale required. The plan will include all the results of the above analysis: the river basin’s characteristics, a review of the impact of human activity on the status of waters in the basin, estimation of the effect of existing legislation and the remaining "gap" to meeting these objectives; and a set of measures designed to fill the gap. an economic analysis of water use within the river basin – a rational discussion on the cost-effectiveness of the various possible measures. It is essential that all interested parties are fully involved in this discussion, and indeed in the preparation of the river basin management plan as a whole. Which brings us to the final major element, the public participation requirements.  

Key Actions to Take under WFD To identify the individual river basins lying within their national territory and assign them to individual River Basin Districts (RBDs), and identify competent authorities by 2003 To characterise river basin districts in terms of pressures, impacts and economics of water uses, including a register of protected areas lying within the river basin district, by 2004; To carry out the inter-calibration of the ecological status classification systems by 2006

Key Actions to Take under WFD To make operational the monitoring of water status by 2006 Based on sound monitoring and on the analysis of the characteristics of the river basin, to identify by 2009 a programme of measures for achieving the environmental objectives of WFD cost-effectively; To produce and publish River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs) for each RBD including the designation of heavily modified water bodies, by 2009

Key Actions to Take under WFD To implement water pricing policies that enhance the sustainability of water resources by 2010; To make the measures of the programme operational by 2012; and To implement the programmes of measures and achieve the environmental objectives by 2015.

Integration: a key concept underlying WFD The central concept to the WFD is that of integration that is seen as key to the management of water protection within the river basin district: Integration of environmental objectives, combining quality, ecological and quantity objectives for protecting highly valuable aquatic ecosystems and ensuring a general good status of other waters; Integration of all water resources, combining fresh surface water and groundwater bodies, wetlands, transitional and coastal water resources at the river basin scale;

Integration: a key concept underlying the Water Framework Directive Integration of all water uses, functions, values and impacts into a common policy framework, i.e. investigating water for the environment, water for health and human consumption, water for economic sectors, transport, leisure, water as a social good, investigating both point-source and diffuse pollution, etc.; Integration of disciplines, analyses and expertise, combining hydrology, hydraulics, ecology, chemistry, soil sciences, technology engineering and economics to assess current pressures and impacts on water resources and identify measures for achieving the environmental objectives of the Directive in the most cost-effective manner;

Integration: a key concept underlying the Water Framework Directive Integration of water legislation into a common and coherent framework. The requirements of some old water legislation have been reformulated in the Water Framework Directive to meet modern ecological thinking. After a transitional period, these old Directives will be repealed. Other pieces of legislation will be co-ordinated in river basin management plans where they form the basis of the programmes of measures;

Integration: a key concept underlying the Water Framework Directive Integration of a wide range of measures, including pricing and economic and financial instruments, in a common management approach for achieving the environmental objectives of the Directive. Programmes of measures are defined in River Basin Management Plans developed for each river basin district; Integration of stakeholders and the civil society in decision-making, by promoting transparency and information to the public, and by offering a unique opportunity for involving stakeholders in the development of river basin management plans;

Integration: a key concept underlying the Water Framework Directive Integration of different decision-making levels that influence water resources and water status, be local, regional or national, for an effective management of all waters; and Integration of water management from different Member States, for river basins shared by several countries, existing and/or future Member States of the European Union.

Integrating Economics into Environmental Policy: The Novelty of the Water Framework Directive Costs, discount rate, prices, taxes… The use of economic terms in the water sector in Europe has increased over recent years – and not only on the part of economists. Economic issues affect all people – as consumers who pay for water supply and sewerage services; as taxpayers for supporting heavy investments in the water sector; and increasingly as human beings, eager to protect water resources for themselves and for future generations.

Integrating Economics into Environmental Policy: The Novelty of the Water Framework Directive Since the 1970s, advocating the polluter-pays principle in water policy has become the norm rather than the exception, although the level of application of this principle remains highly heterogeneous. Furthermore, the focus was on financial aspects rather than on economic costs. It is only in the early 1990s (not long before the Directive’s negotiations were initiated) that attention started switching to the economic value of water.

Integrating Economics into Environmental Policy: The Novelty of the Water Framework Directive This led to the production of many academic studies and analyses, but with limited emphasis placed on creating a link between empirical research and policy-making. With the WFD, it is the first time in EU environmental policy that economic principles,tools and instruments are explicitly integrated into a piece of legislation, thus opening up an unique opportunity of making that link a reality.

Functions of Economic analysis in the WFD To carry out an economic analysis of water uses in each River Basin District; To assess trends in water supply, water demand and investments; To identify areas designated for the protection of economically significant aquatic species; To designate heavily modified water bodies based on the assessment of changes to such water bodies and of the impact (including economic impact) on existing uses and costs of alternatives for providing the same beneficial objective;

Functions of Economic analysis in the WFD To assess current levels of cost-recovery; To support the selection of a programme of measures for each river basin district on the basis of cost-effectiveness criteria; To assess the potential role of pricing in these programmes of measures – implications on cost-recovery; To estimate the need for potential (time and objective) derogation from the Directive’s environmental objectives based on assessment of costs and benefits and costs of alternatives for providing the same beneficial objective;

Functions of Economic analysis in the WFD To assess possible derogation resulting from new activities and modifications, based on assessment of costs and benefits and costs of alternatives for providing the same beneficial objective; To evaluate the costs of process and control measures to identify a cost-effective way to control priority substances.