1. Review of Annexes I and II of the Groundwater Directive 2006/118/EC
DG ENV C.1 Water Unit

2. Legal basis for the review
Article 10 GWD:
The Commission shall review Annexes I and II every six years. Based on the review, it shall, if
appropriate, come forward with legislative proposals to amend Annexes I and/or II.
Article 8 GWD: Regulatory procedure with scrutiny in case of technical adaptations in Annex II Part A and C and in case of adding new pollutants or indicators in Annex II Part B

3. Target of the review
Annex I: Groundwater quality standards – they are European wide standards currently including Nitrates and Pesticides
Annex II Part A: Guidelines for the establishment of threshold values by Member States in accordance with Article 3
Annex II Part B: Minimum list of pollutants and their indicators for which Member States have to consider establishing threshold values in accordance with Article 3
Annex II Part C: Information to be provided by Member States with regard to the pollutants and their indicators for which threshold values have been established

4. Information basis
2012 Blueprint to Safeguard Europe's Water Resources
3rd Commission Report on the Implementation of the WFD (COM(2012)670)
Commission Staff Working Document (SWD(2012)379).
background report on the establishment of threshold values (national standards; TVs) for groundwater in 2010 (C(2010)1096)
2012 in-depth assessment of the differences in groundwater TVs established by Member States.
results of the BRIDGE research project
technical report on the recommendations for the review of Annexes I-II GWD prepared by the Working Group Groundwater (2011, CIRCABC)
results of a call for evidence (April 2013)
results of the public consultation (July – October 2013)
stakeholder conference (October 2013,

5. Problems identified
Insufficient comparability of TVs and hence of the assessment of groundwater chemical status
Need for reviewing the list of substances based on new scientific and technical information. Gaps in knowledge regarding the occurrence of all potential pollutants or substances of concern
Insufficient transparency and inclusion of information in the first RBMPs as regards the assessment of groundwater chemical status

7. Approaches for deriving TVs considering NBLs and criteria values, leading to different TVs
mainly drinking water standard
+ addition
1/2
NBL < criteria value
NBL > criteria value
Safety
margin

8. Proposals
Annex II Part A: including common principles for the determination of natural background levels (NBLs), because they in turn have proved to be one of the most important factors behind the variation in TV establishment methodologies
Annex II Part B:
nitrites and total phosphorus are proposed for inclusion in the list of pollutants to be considered for TV establishment
proposal to complement the list with substances that would be temporarily included in a watch list for groundwater of pollutants identified under the Common Implementation Strategy of WFD
Annex II Part C: proposals for clarifications and complementary provisions regarding the information required to be included in the RBMPs

9. Timelines
October - November 2013: consultation on likely approach with MS and stakeholders in the framework of the CIS
Consultation with the Committee until 13 December 2013
12 February 2014: voting in the WFD Article 21 Committee
March 2014: Proposal sent for scrutiny by EP and Council
Summer 2014: COM adoption